Naruhina: An unexpected Acquaintance
by Wiki627
Summary: The spiritual sequel to An Unexpected Reunion. What happens when an actual romance springs up between two people who did not expect to fall in love in the first place! Note: AU storyline. No ninjas & action but lots of drama, angst & romance. [currently undergoing slight editing]
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's Note: **Hi again guys and sorry for the intrusion. I've been rather side-tracked lately on how to plan an ideal follow-up to An Unexpected Reunion since the readers loved it so much. As explained before however, planning an official sequel is extremely bad since there was nothing more to go on as the story had indeed ended. What I finally came up with was a "spiritual sequel" something that played around with the same ideas and morals but the original concept was too mature in my eyes; it had too much adult themes and that wasn't suitable for everyone. What happened eventually was this little prototype of a chapter.

**On a side note:** Truth be told; I was actually considering scrapping this chapter since it bore far too much similarities to an unexpected reunion but a good friend adviced otherwise when I told her about my plot. She had said, that although, the prototype is indeed similar, the immediate follow up was so different, drastically in fact, that it would be a shame to discard it, especially when the readers haven't even decided to go with or against this chapter and hence why she adviced me in posting this chapter up.

Now, I don't know if this will actually be as popular as the original series but this is, in essence, the second of my "Naruhina: Unexpected" stories. I don't know if I will indeed be planning a third one as that will depend on the reviews for this prototype chapter. As perusual, it will depend on the readers on whether this series will indeed be made into a reality or not.

Beforewarned however that this story will have much more drama, angst, hurt and betrayal than ever before but I promised to make it as cute and fluffy as possible. Like before, please do not hesitate to leave critical reviews but no flames please. To be honest, I'm still a bit hesitant in posting this chapter up since it had too much of a resemblance to the original and not all my side-stories were particularly popular [sadly, Wanna go on a date was largely ignore and I had yet to write it up]

Anyway, I digress, so ON TO THE PROTOTYPE ONE-SHOT of An Unexpected Acquaintance!

_Also, I apologise in advance if there is any unintentional bashing._

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><p><strong><span>Naruhina: An Unexpected Acquaintance<span>**

_At an unknown time, near an undisclosed place_

She could still trace the path where her tears had flowed through those soft cheeck of hers as the young girl recalled the memory of her fiance, or rather in this case, her EX-fiance, who had left her a few days ago. While the bluenette had never really gotten to know who Sasuke really was as an intellectual, and yes, even though theirs was nothing more than a relationship of convenience, or in this case, an arranged marriage that neither of them had actually planned or agreed upon, it could also be said that throughout their last three years of college together, she had gotten rather fond of her fiance. Even if he was, as her friends had put it, crude, arrogant, pessimistic and generally rude.

Truth be told, there was nothing for her to cry about, as her two best friends, Shino and Kiba, had once told her that the Uchiha was neither worth the time nor the bother for. In essence, she knew they were right but the young Hyuuga girl could not shake off the tender memories that they had shared together for the past two years and if anything, she had never went out with anyone besides Sasuke before. Crude, boastful and arrogant though he was, Sasuke had always been on the lookout for her. Even now she could still remember the way he had caressed her hair when she was sick on bed, or how he had went out of his way to find the perfect anniversary gift each year they had been together. All in all, the raven-haired boy was not a bad person afterall and in her heart of hearts, Hinata knew that Sasuke genuinely cared for her as she for him but yet, for what it was worth, it must not have been enough seeing as he had just left her hanging like that...

_Flashback, a few days ago,_

_It was just after her college graduation, when we find the excited bluenette eagerly leaving for the date that her significant other had set up for them in their little hometown of Konoha that very same day. Eager for young Hinata, because it had been three months since she had last seen her dear Sasuke and the last time she had talked to him in person was three months ago. The fact that he had actually arranged this meeting however, meant that he must have finally returned home for the holidays and not a moment too soon, the bluenette had thought. For all intents and purposes, Sasuke could be very considerate when the time called for it and seeing as it was only a week left till their proposed marriage, she couldn't be happier to see him in order to discussed their wedding plans._

_Unfortunately for the naive twenty-two year old, that was not to be considered the case. Had she been thinking along the lines that he had not meet her at all, over the past three months, nor of the fact that he was only contacting her now when the impending marriage was only a week away and even the thickest of idiots would have figured out the true purpose of such an arragement. Yet, for what it was worth, we shouldn't be judging the young bluenette too hard. The reason being? If the fact that she was wearing a gentle smile in preparation for meeting her dearly bethrothed or the fact that she had gotten him an adorable orange fox plushie with ninetails as a commerative gift for the joyous occasion that they were to be starting a life together soon does not move you, then perhaps this will; never in this sweet and kind girls' eyes would she ever believed anyone, much less her fond Sasuke, would be able to do something as horrible as what he was going to do to her right now. _

_Now the bluenette wasn't as naive as everyone thought she was. Afterall, being brought up in a household where you were technically arranged to be married to some random guy you had never met before sort of roughs you up for the real world. Despite this however, for our dear heroine, couldn't be bothered in the least. While she had at first challenged such an absurd decision, she later changed her mind when Sasuke not only managed to win her parent's approval on their first meeting, but he had also suceeded in charming her with those grace and charisma of his. If anything though, she had thought, it wasn't their fault that the matchmaker for both their families had decided to set them up together. Besides, there were far worse people she could have been set up with and yes, although Sasuke was not technically a gentleman, she believed that she could change him for the better, given enough time. _

_For a moment, she suceeded. The three years with the bluenette in college had done wonders for the young Uchiha and it was because of her kind, gentle and understanding nature that he had managed to preserve and push on through with his lot in life. For Sasuke, being in the shadow of his ever perfect brother was torture, as neither of his parents paid him the slightest heed in terms of affection or attention. This was something, Hinata could of course relate too, seeing as her own father, Hiashi prioritise her younger sister's talents over hers. They say opposite attracts and in this regard, perhaps it was true; their contrasting personalities eventually became the red thread of fate that binded them together, even though in retrospect, it was their similar traumatic upbringing that made them see eye to eye with each other. _

_But all that now seemed so far away, as Sasuke had immediately left their hometown of Konoha to pursue a job offer overseas in the land of Lightning. For his bluenette, she had decided to stay in the Land of Fire to look after her family budding new business. The Hyuugas, might have been a small town business coorporation but they were a set up above other cooporations seeing as they had only started ten years prior and were already a booming industry. The Uchihas on the other hand, were major players in the world of politics and that was why the Hiashi had agreed to this so-called arranged marriage. _

_All in all, it wasn't a perfect outcome but it was still an excellent one. That is, until the raven haired dropped a bombshell on her..._

_As Hinata waited patiently for him at the iconic Akimichi tea-house, she fiddled patiently with her hair, her thoughts a jumble of mess on how she was going to convey her feelings of happiness at finally being able to tie the red string together after all these years. Unfortunately, half an hour passed by in this manner and he had still not shown up in the least. Not even a tiny hint of the fact that he was going to turn up even reached her and by then Hinata was fearing the worse for her fiance. Was he injured? Was he lost? Or did something else unfathomable happened to him that she was not aware off? Just as she was about to get up and inquire about his whereabouts did she finally receive a phone call from him. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't going to be one of joy and happiness but one full of sorrow and misery..._

_"Hello? Hello?" the caller asked as our dear bluenette picked up the phone._

_"Sasuke-kun?" she answered back, relief evident in her voice as she realised that he was just fine. "Where are you Sasuke-kun? You made me worried so much, I'm glad you're okay."_

_"Hinata, I've got bad news..." he answered her back_

_"Huh? What is it? Did something happened? Maybe-"_

_"No," he said flatly. "I want you to listen to me carefully and not say a word. Please...promise me this."_

_"I promise," she answered back without so much as a second thought. Afterall, in the two years that she had known the Uchiha for, it was perhaps his direct and blunt manner of imparting certain pieces of information, good one or bad, that she looked up to the most. "You can tell me anything, Sasuke-kun."_

_"The marriage is off, Hinata." was the blunt reply, although...it was full of hesitation. "I'm too young and you are too. I still want to see the world and I can't do that if I'm tied down before we even finish college together."_

_"Sasuke-kun..." Hinata choked. "It's doesn't have to be that way. We could travel around the world together...Being married doesn't mean you're tied down from doing things that you can't otherwise do. **[ACTUALLY IT DOES BUT IN ESSENCE, THIS IS GOOD BECAUSE THE THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T NORMALLY DO AFTER YOU'RE MARRIED AREN'T GOOD FOR YOU ANYWAY]** You once asked me if you could do a favour for me...well, can you do this for me Sasuke-kun? Don't you trust me?"_

_"I do," he answered back smoothly. "And that's why I'm telling you this now. I can't marry you now. And I won't. I've got nothing else to say. Don't worry, I've called your father and mine. There's nothing more you need to do. Goodbye."_

_It was only after the waitress shook her shoulders that the bluenette realised that her face was wet with her tears and the dialtone ringing in her ears that Sasuke had already hung up. What happened next was a mess of blur and foggy images but the one thing that Hinata was certain off was that she had slowly made her way back home before flinging herself up onto her bed before crying her eyes dry. Being constantly ostracize by her father was already a huge burden in her mind and now that Sasuke had cancelled the wedding, her father could only blame her for it, despite it being not her fault. Both her mother and her younger sister tried their best to help her but little of what they did were able to stop her from her bottomless despair. By the end of it, she was but a mere shell of herself and this was what led to the current situation at hand._

_Flashback ends_

"Sasuke..." she whispered as she grasp firmly onto the necklace that he had given her as a keepsake for their first year anniversary. Some holiday this turned out to be, she thought miserably. Her friends were all busy preparing to enjoy themselves after a semester worth of hard work and studeis and here she was, depressed, her things still unpack ever since she got home and her whole body a mess of tangled hair, shrivelled up clothes, coupled with a cloud of depression and lethargic atmosphere. Fondly, she flipped open her phone to look through their fond memories with one another...only for her father to suddenly snap it shut before snatching it out of her hand.

"Disgraceful," Hiashi muttered. "Hinata, get up and take a shower. There is no need to be crying over someone who does not deserve your symphathy."

"But tou-san," she tried, before breaking into another fit of sobs.

"Enough," he ordered coldly. " I understand the cause for your suffering but that is a matter best left alone now that it is done and dusted. Besides, you have more pressing matters, like meeting your new fiance."

"Wh-what?" she stuttered back, stunned at her father's last sentence.

"You heard me," he replied, though not unkindly. "Hinata, I know this is a bit too soon but it has come to my senses, and your mother's, that perhaps the best way to overcome this grief of yours is to go out and find someone else. I know this is selfish of me but please reconsider."

"N-no," she answered back firmly, as she stood up to face her father...before shrinking under that glare of his.

"I won't have my firstborn mopping for three weeks not doing anything," he growled back. "Hinata...I know that I might not be the best father in the world and I know that I might have treated you far too harshly in the past. I am truly sorry for my actions...but the fact remains that I won't let you waste you entire holiday, and life for that matter, away for a boy who just decides to brush you off so casually like that!"

"Y-you d-don't understand," she tried.

"Indeed I don't but remember this, I am still head of this household and what I say goes in this house, AM I CLEAR?"

"H-hai...f-fa-father..."

"Good, now get ready, Naruto-san should be arriving tomorrow and for God's sake child, make sure to at least brush you hair before you meet him!" With that, the Hyuuga head left, leaving her daughter to collapse onto the floor with her head in her hands. There was no fear of tears now; she had cried herself dry over her ex-fiance. More pressing news, was who this Naruto person was. Her first instinct was to yell and scream but that wouldn't solve anything and she refrained herself from doing so. Most girls in her position would have argued against their parents but bear in mind that this was Hinata we're talking about and there was definitely no way, on Earth, was she going to take a stand against her parents. Her tender heart would never allow her to do so. That aside, she also knew that it wouldn't be fair for this new match-up of hers if she didn't at least show him a small amount of decency.

With that in mind, she got up and made her way to her sister's room. If anything, Hanabi's beauty tips would at least make her currently horrendous form, presentable for tomorrow's match-up.

_The next day,_

We find our young heroine sitting patiently in the guest room as she waited patiently, with her father, for their guest to arrive. Presently, both father and daughter were dressed up in neat white kimonos, although hers was more elegantly done up with her hair tied up neatly behind her. All too soon, the clock chimed three in the afternoon and immediately after that, there was a quick knock on the door.

Worldlessly, Hiashi got up and ushered his guests in. There were two young adult, although one was a girl with bright red hair, green eyes and wore glasses while the other had bright blue eyes, blond hair and a very hard look on his face. Nodding at the red hair girl, Hiashi gestured for the two of them to take their seats, the blonde slightly frowning as he did so.

"Mito-sama sends her apologies Hiashi-san," the girl called out as she sat herself down before picking up the tea cup that her host had given them. "She's rather caught-up in paperwork at the moment but she thanks you for proposing this little set up.

"It's quite alright Karin-san," Hiashi answered back. "I, myself, know how much work Mito has considering the fact that my father used to work beside her. If anything, send her my thanks on granting us the loan to set up our branch firm two years ago."

"I'll pass the message along," she nodded once before reaching out a hand and rapping it roughly onto her blonde companion's head without even so much as looking at him. "Where are your manners, Naruto-kun? Introduce yourself to Hinata-san."

"For the record," the blonde spoke out for the first time. "I didn't request this. So can we just consider things not going according to plan and call the whole thing off?"

Great, another person who thinks the world revolves around him, Hinata thought as she took in his words. The blonde wasn't bad looking but it was his attitude that earned him the frown from her now. Add that to the mix that he wasn't even dressed formally for such an occasion and that would be crossing the line. Although...it seemed far too obvious that he was trying so hard not to be making such a good impression after all; from the casual t-shirt to his bloodshot eyes, and even his ruffled, messy hair to the dark stain on his short pants; this was one man who had actually went to the extreme of not showing a good first impression.

Unfortunately for the blonde however, it only piqued the bluenette's interest in him; why in the world was he trying so hard to not be earning her respect? Perhaps he too must have been through a similar traumatic experience but something told her that wasn't the case. More likely however, was the reason that he was being forced into this match up and he was going out of his way to broadcast his distaste at such a meeting. In the bluenette's eyes, this was either a very bold move, or a very childish one. That sly gleam in his eyes, however, was more than enough to guarantee that this was not just some last minute put together plan but rather an ingeneuos move on his part, especially considering the fact that even his red haired company had a very distressed and defeated look on her face when he voice out his reason for being there.

"My apologies, Hinata-sama," Karin answered as she bowed her head. "Please excuse my cousin's erratic behaviour. He has still not come to terms of the fact that we had arranged this entire meeting without his consent."

"Then maybe next time, you'll think otherwise!" he snapped back at her, and earning a flinch from the red hair girl. "Likewise, I can see Hinata-san is of similar mind. So why don't we just save ourselves the trouble and call it quits?"

"*sigh* It seems your grandmother was not joking when she told me about you, Naruto-kun," Hiashi sighed. "You might be the exact replica of your father but you are your mother's child through and through. Can we at least come to a compromise?"

"I'm listening."

"Get to know my daughter first before you do anything rash."

"And if that's not alright with me?"

"Then I'm sure grandmother would be paying a visit to Kushina-san's grave today to grieve about how much her dear grandson is causing her such trouble," Karin answered him calmly, all the while sipping her tea. If you look closely however, you'll be able to just spot the smirk that signaled her satisfaction. Checkmate, Karin thought as she saw the slight frown on her cousing's forehead.

"Very well but Hinata-san gets only an hour. I have more pressing matters to attend to than just chill around here."

"Hinata?" her father asked. Terrible father though Hiashi was, he still loved his daughter as such and hence was loathe to let her spent even a single moment with this rude blonde. Her daughter, on the other hand, was more than determined to find out why he was acting in such a manner.

"I-it's f-fine t-tou-san," she answered back, waving the two of them off. When they both gave her a questioning look, she reinforced her decision once more. "G-go."

At that, both adults left, leaving the blonde and the bluenette together alone in the living room.

"I-I'm s-sorry that y-you'll have to g-go through w-with this Naruto-kun," she told him, now that the two of them were truly alone.

"And I'm sorry that I have to waste my time with some goody-two shoes girl who can't utter a single sentence without stuttering," he replied back angrily. If the blonde was indeed looking to score points against her, he had definitely hit the mark. Unfortunately, he also didn't count on the fact that the dear bluenette had been through much cruelty over the past few days and that coupled with the fact that, Naruto, was behaving in a similar way to Sasuke during their first week out together, only served to bring out the sweet memories of their time together. However, that also served to increase her misery as the realization that he had left her began to hit her once more. Before too long, her eyes began to tear up and a small sob escaped her mouth.

"H-hey...are you alright?" the blonde asked this time round. Unlike before, there was no condescending meaness or abrupt rudeness in his tone of voice. This time, there was only concern. Naruto might be very ticked off at the fact that his grandmother had decided to impose this sudden regiment of hers onto him so suddenly but when he had made up his mind on finding the perfect counter to her little plan, he didn't count on one tiny flaw; his guilt on breaking his potential suitor.

Hinata's response for this? A slight wail, before her pent up frustrations and sorrow overwhelmed her as thoughts of Sasuke raced through her mind, forcing her into the reflexive and uncontrollable form of hiccups and tears. Before she knew it, a pair of soft hands circled around her and without thinking twice, she laid her soft head onto the person's shoulders.

"I'm sorry I was so rude to you before," the blonde whispered, shocking the bluenette when she realised that it was her guest who had pulled her into this kind embrace. "I'm so sorry Hinata-san. I never meant for things to escalate this way. I didn't stop to consider your feelings on this and I apologise."

"See, y-your n-not s-such a b-bad guy afterall," she replied once her tremors and hiccups were gone. "We a-all just n-need a little k-kindness once in a-awhile."

"I'm not," the blonde sighed. "I just thought that if I was mean to you, you wouldn't consider me husband material and we would have dropped it like that but you managed to break through my mold."

"W-why?" she asked, totally curious as to the way he was behaving as such.

"My relationship with my grandmother is currently very strain," he explained. "Although that wasn't always so. However, she crossed the line when she set me up with someone who I have never met before."

"I'm s-sorry," she whispered back.

"It's not your fault," he explained, when something caught his attention. "Aren't you ticked off by this arrangement just as much as I am?"

The bluenette shook her head at that. Loathe though she was to tell him how unfair the whole arrangement was, she didn't have the courage nor the strength to stand by her decision. Besides, what's the point of complaining when you're not going to do anything about it? If life was unfair, either stand up and do something about it or in the bluenette's eyes, shut up and bear with it. Things were definitely never going her way but even now she held on to that belief that one day things might turn out for the better. After everything she had gone through, Hinata was still praying for that silver lining.

Naruto, however, saw through that ploy of hers. Few things irritated him as much as someone being forced into something which they had no power over and this was the prime example, with her as the victim in this whole damn mess.

"You're lying," he told her quietly. "You...never wanted this in the first place."

"H-how did y-you know?" she asked awestruck by his sudden clarity at her dishonesty.

"Your body language for one," he told her absent-mindedly. "But tell me, since I'm so very curious...why did you agree to something which you hate when it could...I don't know...say, RUIN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE?!"

This time, the bluenette grimaced at the loud tone his voice had taken towards the end of his little outburst, although, she had to agree that he definitely had a good point there. Seeing that there was no other way around this, she steeled herself for what she was going to tell him.

"F-father...coerced me i-into d-doing this," she answered lamely. "I...d-didn't dare argue o-otherwise."

"You could say no. There's always that possibility, you know." It was strange how the dynamic between the two of them had suddenly shifted so suddenly. No more was the young blonde berating her for something that was out of control because it was just that; circumstances had dictated the two of them to meet in such a manner even though both of them didn't want to. That being said however, Naruto was also extremely remorseful at treating the bluenette the way he did previously. Breaking someone was never easy for the blonde, although he will do it when circumstances forced him to. Doing it to the bluenette however, was out of the question. She was, afterall, as much a victim in this as he was and unlike him, she wasn't whinning about it. That more than anything, made him realised just how immature he was being.

"I c-can't," was her only answer back.

"What do you mean you can't?!" he asked her back, his eyes wide.

"I j-just c-can't, Naruto-kun," she exclaimed once more, before turning her head down. "I d-don't have y-your courage nor y-your bluntness. I j-just can't say n-no."

"You're a handful you know that?" he sighed. Getting up, he released her from his grip before walking back to his seat and sitting himself down, a thinking look on his face as he processed the situation before him. Here he was, feeling sorry for the very girl he had cursed only the week before just because his grandmother had decided to set him up with someone of her ideal match for him. No doubt, the easiest solution would be to just go along with his original plan by not agreeing to the proposal but that would only result in the bluenette being reprimanded for his actions and that put a very nasty after taste in his mouth. There was just no way he was going to let her be scolded for something that he was responsible for. That said however, he found himself in quite the pickle.

On one hand, if he got his way, the poor girl would be punished and if he didn't get his way, he would be agreeing to spend his life with someone that he had barely known. Now, Hinata wasn't such a bad person in his eyes. If they had met under different situations, they could have been friends or maybe even more but unfortunately, they had to be arranged by both families as man and wife. More than that however, and it pained the blonde to admit this; was the fact that if he had indeed agree to this, it would mean surrendering to his grandmother and that was never happening.

Unless...he thought. Slowly, an idea popped up in his mind and the more he thought about it, the better it got, until his entire being was riff with excitement. Grab it, his brain it. This was your only chance to make thing's right.

"S-so w-what now, Naruto-kun?" she asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Say, I...no...we go along with this," he began and holding a single finger up at her amazed look. "And then at the very last moment, we break it off. That way, neither of us would be affected by our families. I'm sure we can think up of something that'll make them reconsider our engagement, don't you?"

That wasn't a very bad plan, seeing as both youths were totally against this whole arranged marriage thing in the first place but if you include the fact that Sasuke had just done the very same thing to Hinata and that was a complete NO in the bluenette's eyes. As she turned around to face him, Naruto knew that it wasn't going to work. Something was amiss with her. Something...that she wasn't telling him. Now, the blonde didn't like being nosy but seeing as this was the only way not to get both him and her into any sort of trouble, he was going to intrude on her personal space.

"You're against this, aren't you?" he asked her, to which she merely nodded back in reply. "Why?"

At that, she didn't reply him. Sighing once more, the blonde shook his head. It seemed that there was only one solution but first...he needed her opinion.

"What do you think of me, Hinata-san?" he asked her out of the blue.

"You're a v-very n-nice guy Naruto-kun. H-had we indeed m-met under different circumstances, I-I'm sure w-we could have b-been friends," she answered him, echoing his thoughts from earlier on.

"If," he hesitated. "If...I do agree to this...would you accept?"

"H-hai naruto-kun," she answered back gently. "Y-you're not such a b-bad person. I-I'm sure I'll f-find a way t-to love you e-eventually."

Bold words from such a fragile young lady, he thought warily. Although, you have defintely earn my respect, Hinata-san.

"And what about me? What if I never learn to love you back in return? Would you agree to a loveless marriage?"

"S-sometimes the n-need o-of others o-outweight our own," she answered back softly, before flashing him a soft smile. Despite that, the sadness in that tone of hers carried more words that he could ever hope to know.

"Very well," he asnwered back, before pulling out a simple gold ring from his shirt pocket. Then walking towards her, he took her left hand and very gently placed the ring onto her fourth finger. "For the next hundred days, you are my bethrothed and in that time, I hope we will get to know each other very well before we are fated to tie the red string together."

"H-hai Naruto-kun," she answered back emotionlessly. "Th-thank you..."

"Don't thank me just yet," he muttered back darkly but not loud enough for her to hear. Just as they had finally finished doing so, did both Hiashi and Karin re-entered the living room.

"I trust everything went well?" Hiashi asked, smiling at the gold band on his daughter's left hand. The bluenette look away at that.

"Better than expected Hiashi-san," Naruto answered. "If you'll excuse us, me and Karin will have to report this back to grandmother."

And so, with the matter settled, both Uzumakis left the Hyuuga residence.

"I sorry for putting you through this Hinata but you'll thank me one day," Hiashi said once the two of them were alone. The bluenette merely nodded before walking back to her room to process everything that had occured only a few minutes ago.

I just hope you know what you're doing Mito-san...Hiashi thought once his daughter left him.

_With the two Uzumakis,_

"You're planning something aren't you, nee-san?" Karin asked as her cousin drove them out of the Hyuuga residence.

"What makes you say that?" he answered her carefully.

"Knowing you, you would never have agreed to such an outrageous arrangement," she answered back evenly. "For her sake, I hope you know what you're doing."

"Please, with the way you're saying it, you're making me out to be the villain here," he smirked. Karin was not far from her insepction of Naruto. Truth be told, the blonde had ulterior motives for doing such a thing. First of all, while he had indeed agree to this proposal, that didn't mean he was actually going to see it through. In his mind, this was his actual plan; he was going to use the hundred days of their engagement to train Hinata so that she was going to be better at asserting herself. The bluenette had said that she had wished she had his courage on such matters. Well, this was his answer to her demand. One way or another, he was going to teach her how to stand up for herself and hopefully before the hundred days was up, the bluenette would finally be able to hold her ground and agree together with him against this whole mess.

That way, he thought, both of them were going to be able to get what they want, with Hinata being stronger at the end for it. The only drawback was if he couldn't summon her courage but he wasn't going to ponder on such needless thoughts.

Well...that, he thought once more. Or I actually fall in love with her but what are the chances?

Unfortunately, a lot of things can go wrong in a hundred days...love, definitely being one of them.

* * *

><p>Chapter end<p>

That's it for the prototype one-shot guys. I will indeed be planning a sequel for this series but once more, I need the readers approval.

Also, the story might be hard to read so I might actually have to re-write this chapter if most of you didn't quite get it but still want a sequel for this mini-series. On the plus side, this should be far longer than most An Unexpected Reunion but again, if the readers don't like its length [I've got a lot of good ideas this time round] I will eventually cut it short.

So, please review, especially if you want a sequel to this one-shot. If not; it'll be scrapped. Anyway, see you next time guys!


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's** **note:** Hi again guys and yay for more chapters! The next chapter of Moonlight Kingdom should be out in the next few hours but while that's being reviewed by yours truly, I'll post this new chapter up for you amusement. Anyway, this story started just a bit too slow but I'll be making some ramfications there.

**On a more importantside note: **Following such ramification, it regrets me to warn you that the next few chapters might be a bit too...UNBEARABLE TO READ. By which I mean, they're going to be horribly painful because there will be much abuse of a certain bluenette. The reason being, I'm currently playing along with the idea called **"BREAKING THE CUTIE"** something that well...describes it pretty much. Now this is actually quite a popular trope but people [writers in general] tend to scorn it because of the fact that the audience might not like their character being thrashed about by everyone else. Now there's quite a good reason why I'm actually going to break our cutie here but you'll see, just read on. If you indeed do hate it, please inform me as such. I'm currently collecting data on what the readers view and I am curious as to how the audience views such a trope.

To RoseTiger: thanks so much for the correction! Must have missed that blunder there [*wail*]

Anyway, to the chapter!

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><p>Chapter 2: About my fiance...<p>

_At the Hyuuga business building the next day..._

"Hinata," a voice greeted her and directing her attention away from her monitor screen.

"H-huh?" she asked, as she carefully re-positioned her lopsided glasses back onto their original position, to stare at the newcomer. "H-hai, can I h-help you, Ino-san?"

"I'm going out with Sai tonight, would you mind taking over some of my work?" the blonde girl pleaded, to which the bluenette could only sigh.

"Oh okay..." the bluenette barely whispered back, to which a satisfied Ino grinned.

"I'm so sorry for causing you this inconvenience..." she smiled sweetly before taking her leave. Deep down however, the blonde girl was feeling rather pleased with herself. It seemed that their company's newcomer and self-appointed doormat really couldn't say 'no', which makes shirking off duties rather easily. For a feelting moment, a slight guilt flashed across Ino's heart but she pushed the thought aside. As far as she knew, Hinata, did not have important things such as relationships to deal with and hence Ino's time was worth far more than hers. Besides, if everyone else was doing it, why couldn't she? Oh...If only Ino knew just who Hinata's father was, she would be asking her to do such an outrageous situation like right now but point was, she didn't.

The reason? Hinata's cousin, and current manager of the Konoha branch of the place she was working at, had strictly given her orders not to divulge such personal information. When she had asked why, he had simply muttered something along the lines of, "Trivial matters are not the concern of the company." Truth be told, like Naruto, Neji had ulterior motives for requesting her silence and the true reason why he didn't want his little cousin's co-workers to find out her true relationship to the higher-ups of their business was because he didn't want people taking advantage of his little cousin. The brunette might not show it but he didn't like seing any member of his family being picked on, much less the bluenette when she was already being neglected enough back home.

That said however, the simple precaution that Neji had ordered didn't seem to do much good for her anyway. Because of her kind nature, and more importantly her reluctance to refuse anyone's order, Hinata's co-workers tended to flock to her in an effort to shirk their responsibilities onto the bluenette. As a result, while Neji could indeed keep an eye on the more 'ambitious' members of the working staff, he could do little to offer help to his little cousin. Afterall, if he did interfere, it would be very suspicious why the manager was helping out a brand new worker who had been hired only a week before and that would be against his entire goal of keeping the bluenette's lineage a secret.

Truth be told, even Neji himself was, at first confuse as to why Hiashi wanted his own daughter working as a common worker when he could, in fact, let her run her own branch in another part of the country seeing as Hiashi did in fact own the Hyuuga coorporation. Her skills were more than enough to warrant her such a position. However, the more the brunette spent observing his younger cousin, the clearer it became to him that Hinata was not ready to run her own branch. At least, not yet anyway. Her skills were not the problem here but rather her personality. She was...a total and complete pushover. Ask her to do the smallest favour and she would do it without hesitation. What about asking her to do something that would warrant her own productivity? She would do it. What about if that favour would cost her to get into trouble with the manager? Still, even then, SHE'LL DO IT. It frustrated the brunette to no end how his younger cousin couldn't say the word 'no' but try as he might, no matter how much he begged his uncle for help, Hiashi would not budge on the situation.

The older man's reasoning was simple, "If she wants to run a coorporation, she NEEDS to learn how to be ASSERTIVE."

Neji had then dropped the matter then, and though he respected his uncle's logic and actions, he just couldn't bear to watch his cousin suffer long nights at work, putting huge amounts of efforts on somebody else's work and having them take the credit for it. What was even worse was that Hiashi had even ordered him not to interfere for her behalf and it pained him to no end. Even now, as he watched the events unfolding right before his very eyes from the transparent glass window of his office, he could only clench his teeth in indignation.

"Just say no," he growled under his breath, and earning a very worried look from his secretary.

"Er...Neji-san?" Tenten asked, to which she suddenly jump in fright as her superior slammed his palm onto his desk when he saw the way Hinata merely nodded before taking the stack of papers from Ino. He would have done more had he seen what the other workers did, since following Ino's action, they had decided to dump small tasks of their own responsibilities onto the blunette, to which she could only readily accept one after another but it was a good thing he didn't as he had swung his armchair to face the other direction. Furiously, a plan began to formulate in his mind. He could punish them but giving them overtime without any pay would be counter-intuitive in his eyes, seeing as they would just simply lump their extra work to the bluenette which would only worsen her troubles.

"What?!" he growled at Tenten. The twenty three year old could only gulped in response. Now was definitely not the time to be distrubing him but she needed his signatures on some papers if the company was to expand and it wouldn't do if she got scolded for her superior's negligence.

"I n-need you to s-s-sign these papers," she shakily told him, as she carefully deposited a stack of documents onto his desk, before excusing herself out of his office. "Remember M-mito-sama w-wants the arrangement d-done by noon today."

A questioning look crossed his mind, to which Tenten could only sighed in exasperation, "You know...the Uzumaki? It wouldn't do to cross them. Ever."

"Indeed," he answered back airily, his mind now far away, as a new thought flashed through his mind. Uzumaki...Uzumaki, I thought I heard that name somewhere before, he mused before the memory of what Hiashi told him yesterday flashed through his mind. Almost immediately, an idea popped up in that savage mind of his and shortly after that, a killer grin popped up on his face. He didn't know if this was going to work but if Naruto was anything the rumours were talking about, then it would be the perfect solution to Hinata's little predicament.

"M-manager?" Tenten asked, worried once more.

"Tenten," he addressed suddenly, his tone serious once more.

"Hai?"

"Get me Naruto-san on the phone."

"Mito-sama's grandson?" she asked, to which Neji nodded. She was to asked why but her time as a secretary over the past three months had taught her otherwise. Without so much as a second word, she immediately left to fulfill his order.

"Now let's see if you're all you cranked up to be Naruto-san," the brunette mused to himself. "Afterall, this is YOUR fiance we're talking about..."

_Lunch time, later with Hinata and the girls,_

As Hinata wearily snap shut her laptop, she could hear the girls about her squealing as she made their way towards them. None of them however, paid her any attention as she seated herself in a little corner of the tiny cafeteria, unpacking her lunch as she did so.

"So, spill, Ino," a pink haired girl called out. "Since when did you and Mr emotionless got together?"

"Just recently, really," Ino grinned back. "He's not that emotionless."

"Well, he does have a nice face," Matsuri joked. "If you can ignore his somewhat senseless babbling."

"And a very inspiring young artist," Ino answered back. "His art is already fetching quite a high price on the market. Sai's definitely got a bright future ahead of him."

"Hmm, what about you Sakura?' Matsuri asked.

"No one for me I'm afraid," she sighed. "I'm still waiting for that ideal guy to just sweep me off my feet. He needs to be tall, dark, handsome and silently mysterious."

Hinata choked that. That sounded all too much like a certain person...who, well, let's just call him He-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless for her sake, shall we?

Quiet as a mouse, she quickly finished her meal, pack up and hastily made her way away from them. Unfortunately, out of all the days to be noticed, fate decided to play a cruel trick on her that very day, as Sakura caught side of her trying to escape their attention.

"What about you, Hinata-san?" she called out jovially. "Do you have anyone you could call a special someone."

The bluenette was just about to reply when Ino suddenly gave a low whistle, "I didn't know you were engaged, Hinata-san!"

This pretty much crushed whatever form of escape route she had originally planned in the first place. In all honesty, she and her co-workers did not get along very well since they, like the majority of the office, found her silence to be less polite than usual. For her part, she didn't the way the office, and in particular, these three took advantage of her in order to skive off work. That said however, this was an excellent position to built up her relationship with perhaps, the three most influential, rookies in the office. If only, the topic wasn't about her love life...

"I-I just g-got engaged y-y-yesterday, Ino-san," she stammered, hoping to make the conversation as short as possible. Her, co-workers, however, were having different ideas, now that the topic had been breached.

"Whoa! So, who is he? What does he work as? Have I ever heard of him?" Sakura ranted on.

"Do tell," Matsuri pressed, just as eager as her two friends. "We've never heard anything about you before."

It's better if you don't, was the only thing that ran through her mind but she wasn't going to tell them that. Instead she ansered, "H-he's q-quite a n-nice guy, really. And his n-name's Naruto."

"Hmm...never heard of him. Girls?" Ino asked to which the other two could only shake their heads in return. "So what's he work as? A doctor? A police chief? An engineer?"

"An..an..an...o-office boy [Lowest job position available in a coorporate business]," she squeaked back in return. All three turned to stare at her for that. A moment of silence followed as the words slowly sank in.

"Well...how long have you met him, Hinata-san?" Matsuri answered back, laughing slightly to dispell the suddenly gloomy atmosphere that had appeared following the blunette's answer.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not always money that matters, right?" Ino put in. "You know the old saying, love conquers all?"

She was right there but it would have been much better had the blonde kept her mouth shut about it, seeing as Hinata's sad little respose was, "A...d-day."

Once more, another round of silence permeated between the four girls as they slowly digest the information. If what Hinata was saying was correct, then it could only mean one thing...

"It's n-not that b-bad, Hinata-san," Sakura stammered back. "I mean...lots of p-people find love in a-arranged marriages."

"Yeah, I mean...at least he's a nice guy right?" Ino chipped in. By this point in time, the blunette knew that prolonging the conversation would only do more harm than good. With that said, she merely nodded once before excusing herself away from the three of them, a horrible heaviness in her chest as she recalled their words.

"Poor thing...I can't believe she was being forced into this..." Matsuri exclaimed once the bluenette was gone.

"Huh, better her than me I suppose," Sakura muttered, earning her a reproving look from the other.

"Sakura's right Matsuri," Ino added. "I doubt you wanna trade places with her, no matter how sorry you felt."

The blonde girl would have said more had it not been for the fact that if she did so, it would have meant being ostracized from the group altogether. It was for this reason and this reason alone that she kept her silence, no matter how much her conscience yelled at her for allowing such injustice. Out of all Hinata's co-workers, Matsuri could be called the jackal in a pack of wolves because, unlike the way the rest of them took the bluenette's kindness for granted, she chose not to. That said however, her own survival in the office came first and despite seeing how unfair the rest of them treated the bluenette, she didn't do anything about it. Being ostracized was one of her worst fears and if it meant letting the bluenette suffer, then so be it. This did not mean she liked the arrangement however and her guilt always caught up with her from time to time, now being one of those times.

Fogive me Hina-chan, she thought sadly. I wish...I wish I had the strength...but I don't...I'm such a hypocrite...

_With Naruto,_

Presently, the self-proclaimed office-boy was busy sorting out bundles and bundles of paperwork as he leafed himself through each and every one of them. He was so immersed in his work that he didn't hear the soft chime of the clock behind him, nor the opening of his office door as two figures quickly stepped in, before shutting it close behind them. When they saw the amount of work he was burying himself in, Karin could only shook her head, whereas Shikamaru could only muttered his trademark sentence.

"Nii-san, you really should stop doing this," the red-haired girl called out as she moved beside her beloved cousin before putting a hand onto his shoulders.

"Just a few more minutes," he answered back, as he casually tossed a discarded piece of agreement onto the bin beside him.

"Bad agreement?" Karin asked, at his action.

"More like _pure stupidity_," he growled. "There's no way I'm coughing up thousand's of dollars just to arrange a meeting with some world famous politician who _might_ decide to show up. Besides, it was him who wanted this arrangement, so why is he asking us to pay for something he should be responsible for."

"I wouldn't recommend messing with a politician, Chief," Shikamaru adviced. "It'll be troublesome."

"I'll bear that in mind," the blonde nodded, totally ignoring the Nara's suggestion. "Now tell me, why are the two of you bothering me?"

"Grandmother asked me to drag you out of this bleeding office for your own good, Nii-san," Karin answered. "She's as worried as I am about your health."

"If she's so worried, then why doesn't she make an effort of actually seeing me?" he answered back darkly before dismissing his cousin's exasperated sigh. "And you, Shika? What are you doing here?"

"I've got a called from the Hyuuga coorporation," Shikamaru answered back. "One of their higher ranked officers requests you presence in picking up his little cousin, Hinata up today."

"And tell me why in the world would I bother picking up someone I don't even know?" he snapped back, before waving the Nara away. Unfortunately for him, just as the words left his mouth came a rather sharp rap to his head from his cousin. "Itei! What was that for?!"

"Someone you don't know?" she muttered darkly. "Try _your wife_, nii-san."

"Oh," he blinked. "Well, that changes things. Stop looking at me like that! I totally forgot!"

"What kind of man forgets his wife?!" Karin snapped but the blonde wasn't looking at her anymore. Naruto had turned his attention back towards his assisstant now.

"So what did this officer want me to do?" he asked. The Nara flipped through a notepad before replying.

"It seems Neji, your...ahem...*cough* *cough*...wife's cousin, has reported some unfair things happening to her at her work place and he requests your aid," Shikamaru coughed.

"What kind of unfair things?"

"Well, according to Neji...let me see...give me a sec...ah, right. It seems Hinata's a bit of a doormat at her new workplace..."

No surprises there, both Uzumakis thought warily but Naruto gestured for Shikamaru to continue on. "And it seems that people keep taking advantage of her good nature by shoving everything onto her and then taking credit for everything that she had done with little or no recognition to her..."

"I've heard enough," the blonde interuptted as he quickly stood up before cracking his knuckles. "Shikamaru, cancel all my meetings this afternoon, if there are any. I'm going to have a few words with these co-workers of hers..."

"But Naruto-sama-" Shikamaru protested.

"I said, CANCEL them," he ordered, before taking off his glasses and walking right out of the office, his cousin trailing after him.

"I don't get paid enough for this..." the poor Nara muttered as he saw the two of them walk off. "Since when did he get a wife?!"

_With the two Uzumakis,_

"Nii-san, you can't just walk off like that!" Karin argued, as Naruto continued making his way towards the elevator. "I mean, okay, granted this is your wife, we're talking about-"

"Hinata is NOT my wife," the blonde argued back hotly. "At least not yet anyway and blast and screw those damn shareholders. If they dare so much voice out another complain, then I'll just buy off their entire stock."

"We don't have the resources for such-"

"Perhaps _we_ don't Karin," he smirked evilly at that. "But I never did say _'we'_ now, did I? I said _'I'_."

At that, Karin could only frown. She knew just how much power her cousin held in the company but it wasn't what she knew that scared her. Rather, it was the unknown of what her cousin could truly do that frightened her to no end and this was one of those moment when he had decided to show his ugly side. Although, why he was going out of his way for Hinata, she couldn't seem to figure out why...

"I thought you were against her in the first place?"

"I may not like the idea of being arranged to her yes but Karin, the fact remains that she is still my bethored. It wouldn't do to just leave my potential wife suffering like that."

"It's because she reminds you so much of yourself in the past, isn't it?" Karin asked once more and earning a hurt look from the blonde.

"Maybe," he answered her back casually but that was more than enough of an answer for her. "I don't like seeing someone else suffer silently when everyone else just sits there doing nothing about it."

"I'm with you there, Nii-san," she answered back as the two of them stepped into the elevator. "But, why in the world, did you tell her that you're an office boy?!"

"Because I felt like it," was his simple response as the elevator snapped shut before them.

_With Hinata back at the Hyuuga building,_

"And could you do this for me?" another person asked, as he dropped another stack of paperwork onto the already growing stack on the bluenette's desk, without even so much as waiting for her response. As Hinata warily glanced at the mountain of work before her, she mentally screamed at just how late she was going to have to stay that very night before burying her face in her hands. Not for the first time, she cursed herself for her inability to say no. It was just one simple word that, try as she might, she just couldn't utter. As a small sob escaped from her mouth, however, she heard a soft snicker from behind before flinching at the sudden touch of someone petting her on the head.

"You really are a handful, you know that?" that familiar voice called out. Dread filled her heart as she realised just who that voice belonged to. No doubt, in the bluenette's mind, if Naruto had seen her behaving in such a manner, then he would consider her to be a pathetic excuse for a woman. If he did indeed consider her a pathetic excuse for a woman, then he wouldn't see her as someone being worth spending his life with. Which would only mean one thing...As she turned to face the imminent rush of "I don't think this marriage this is working out.", her heart breaking at the thought of how her father was going to berate her for losing yet another potential suitor, she instead found the blonde, not angry and not disappointed at her, but oddly enough, paying her rubbish bin more attention than her.

"Hmm, is this rubbish bin flame-proof, Hinata-san?" he asked her.

"H...h-hai?" she mummbled back dumbly. He didn't seem particularly angry, so that was a good thing...but what was he doing here at her office, and more importantly, what was he going to do with those huge stack of paperwork that her colleagues had given her?

By now, half the office were eyeing the blonde and his cousin with a mixture of curiousity and confusion. Karin, on the other hand, grimaced at what Naruto was about to do next. Quick as lightning, he had picked up the huge pile, before dumping it, trash and all, onto the bin. The next thing that he did, was to take out a bottle of colourless liquid before emptying its entire contents onto the stack of paper. Now, almost three quarters of the office was watching him and their curious looks soon turned to horror as he ignited his lighter before flinging it straight onto the bin, whereupon the contents caught flames immediately.

"What do you think you're doing?!" a pink haired girl screeched as she saw the pile of work that she had given to the bluenette burned to a crisp. "That was my responsibility!"

"Oh? And do tell, why do I find it on my fiance's desk? If anything, that looked like discarded trash and what do people do with garbage? They **BURN** it," the blonde answered back coldly. Then, turning to face each and everyone of them, he called out in an authoritative tone, "I don't want to see any of this. Your own work, **YOU DO IT**."

That was too much for the pink haired too bear, she was about to grab this random guy and teach him a lesson in meddling in other people's affair when she felt a firm grasp on her shoulder. Turning around angrily, she quailed in anger as she turned to find herself face to face with her employer.

"Naruto-san is correct," Neji announced. "I have half a mind to fire you all right on this spot but that would leave even me without a job. I expect each and every one of you to get a copy of the documents burned done by tommorow."

"But Hyuuga-sama," one of the workers protested. "That could take the entire night!"

"You could leave," he threatened back. "I'll get your pink slip ready, if you so choose."

With that, the brunette turned to leave as the fire sprinkles choose to activate at that very moment. Everyone turned to glare at the blonde then but little did he care, as he pulled the bluenette up before escorting her out of the incoming sprinkle shower; they had deserved it afterall.

"C'mon, I'm taking you out tonight," the Uzumaki called, as Karin rushed to grab the bluenette's belongings. "I'm not letting you spend another second in that damn block."

"B-b-but...what a-about w-work..?" she argued.

"Taken care of, Hinata-san," Karin called out as she tried desperately to shield herself from the incoming spinkles. "Neji-san's agreed to give you a day off today."

"B-but..."

"Are you saying NO to me Hinata-san?" Naruto asked, as he suddenly turned round to face her before giving her a reproving look. When she looked away at that, he smirked once more. "I thought so. If anything though, thank you for that little fiasco today, it's been a while since I burned someone's paperwork."

Both girls could only frowned at that. Deep down however Naruto was thinking other things. This is far worse than I thought, he sighed to himself. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.

_Back at the block,_

"Damn that bloody office boy," a totally drenched and ticked off Sakura cursed as she, Ino and Matsuri made their way to the toilet before drying themselves off. "How dare someone like him do something as despicable as that!"

"Screw that blue hair mute as well!" an equally angry Ino hissed as she dried her clothes off as well. "I'm so going to get back at her for this!"

"It's not her fault!" Matsuri cried, seeing her two friends verbally degrading the bluenette. "I doubt even you would dare stand up against her fiance."

"I would, if he was my fiance!" Sakura countered back. "Then again, he's not and I wouldn't be as stupid as her to accept an arranged marriage. At least have the Goddamn sense to rein your bleeding husband in when he decides to make trouble for everyone else!"

"I couldn't agree more," Ino growled.

"That's enough from the two of you!" Matsuri reproved. "It was your own fault for forcing your her onto her in the first place."

"_I would watch your words if I were you, Matsuri_," the pink haired, as both of them shot the blonde girl down with huge glares. "Don't forget that despite starting out here at the same time as us, you come from Wind country and without our support, you wouldn't have been able to come this far."

"Yeah, friends don't backstab one another," Ino added. "Not unless they want to be left out in the open."

"G-gomen..." the blonde girl muttered back, her fear taking hold of her once again. With friends like them, who needs enemies, she thought silently. Deep down however, she knew she was no better than them, for allowing her two collegues to bully Hinata. How Hinata managed to survive this long in the business world, she didn't know but right now, Matsuri wished that she could trade places with the Hyuuga girl right now. Ironic as it seemed, unlike her two friends who, she knew would never ever stand up for her, despite the constant emphasis they always placed on thier words. The bluenette, on the other hand, had actually found someone who would stand up for her, regardless of what would happen to him otherwise.

I'm so jealous of you Hina-san, she thought to herself. All this time, I've been feeling sorry for you when in actual fact...I should have felt jealous, Hina-san. Despite your fiance being just an office boy, he actually had the guts to stand up for himself. Ino and Sakura can keep their delusions to themselves. Looks? Wealth? Prestige? I want a guy who can stand with me through thick and thin, no matter what...because...your fiance, Hina-san has proved that "Good actions don't need praises. They speak louder than words."

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><p>Chapter end.<p>

SLIGHT EDIT HERE GUYS. If you're re-reading this chapter, please do comment on whether it was good or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and yay for more chapters! Truth be told, I should be getting back to my original story but I've having serious writers block on my main story, so I decided to side-track myself with my side one. Hope nobody is too ticked off about that [I apologise for the late update-life has been a bit rocky the last few weeks]. Anyway, the reviews and the response for this story wasn't as popular as my Unexpected Reunion but it was responsive enough for me to give it a proper plot and development. I'm still working out the kinks here but hopefully I'll get the balance between plot progression and character development just right [too fast and the story ends too early. Too late and the readers get bored], so please bear with me on that.

Anyway, I think I've digressed enough. On to the next chapter!

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><p>Chapter 3: Moving the immovable, seeing the invisible and doing the impossible.<p>

_A few moments later at Konoha's forest reserve with the two Uzumakis and Hinata,_

After the horrendous incident that took place at the Hyuuga building that very afternoon, a still somewhat dazed and bewildered Hinata had been dragged, against her will, by the two Uzumakis to the park located just within the outskirts of the tiny village. If what Naruto had meant when he said he was taking her out,this was defintely not her idea of a perfect date; in her present condition, the blonde had strapped a huge bag full of heavy rocks onto her back before forcing her to run up and down a steep slope, with increasing speeds each time she finished a round. Hinata, to say the least, was not amused. At all. Still, she felt somewhat obligated to perform his simewhat backbreaking labour after what her fiance had done for her that same afternoon, although why he was asking her to repay him in such a fashin, she couldn't figure out.

For Karin however, the female Uzumaki had shook her head upon seeing her older cousin's rigorous spartan training. There were some things that girls should not be drilled on; this being one of them but she had yet to drill that concept into her cousin's mind. For Naruto, so long as you were a human being, in excellent condition with four fully functioning limbs, he didn't care the least. This was going to be the beginning of her so-called training ritual for the next hundred days and he was going to see it through. The only slight hesitation that he had had was when his fiance fell down and scrapped her knee. For a moment, he was very tempted to call the whole thing off but seeing Karin rushing to her aid only made him hardened his heart and following that, he had refrained his cousin from helping Hinata before ordering her to run up the hill once more, to which the bluenette, unsurprisingly followed through.

"Nii-san...I don't think this will be working out. Like ever," a very agitated Karin commented as Hinata fell down for the fourth time that day. "It's been only half-an hour and she already looks like she's been to Mars and back!"

"The best medicine always tastes the worse," the blonde grimaced as Hinata began the circuit once more. "On the bright side, this is good for her health..."

"What's the point of all of this?!" Karin nearly yelled back in exasperation. "Aren't you even the slightest bit worried about her safety?!"

"Peace," he answered back. "Something like this isn't going to kill her, Karin. Besides...this isn't the true purpose of the whole regiment."

"Then what is?!" she asked back, waving her hands up. "Unless you want her to suddenly go mental on you and snap-wait a minute...that's the whole point of this, isn't it!"

"Exactly." This time when he turned around, there was a sly grin on that face of his. "Sometimes to start with the mind, you need to torture the body first. It's the same concept as enslaving a person's body and his mind will most certainly rebel. On the other hand, Hinata-san, has been subject to the opposite, in which her mind has been enslaved...with the body following shortly after that."

"So you're trying to...un-brainwash her?" she asked, for the lack of a better term. "How do you know if this will work?"

"I don't," he admitted. "But given enough time, even the toughest of steel will be dulled by time. We'll continue on until she breaks...one way or another."

"You can't be serious!" she choked, as she took another look at the poor bluenette whose face, by this time was no longer red from the unrelenting punishment but bone white from the exertion. Either way, one thing was certain; she wouldn't be able to last much longer.

"Oh, trust me Karin," he answered back with a grim smile. "I've never been more serious in my entire life."

_A half-hour later_...

She didn't know when it happened or how it occured but it finally did when her body, pushed beyond the its physical limits, finally gave way and fell onto the hard floor beneath her. As she laid there daze for a second, Hinata asked herself just one simple question, "What in the world have I done to deserve this?"

It would have been so easy, so very easy to just shut her eyes right then and cried herself to sleep as the exertion finally caught up with her aching body but unfortunately for her, her so-called fiance was having none of that. Whereas she had previously believed that her fiance wasn't such a bad man afterall, it seemed that she was competely wrong in her assumption. In the bluenette's eyes, there was only one possible explanation as to why he was making her go through such torture and that was because he was punishing her for her blunder back in the office back then.

"Get up and do the routine once more!" Naruto barked in a cold tone. "Up you get, princess! If you have the time to do everyone elses' work for them, then you have the time to reward me for rescuing your sad little existence!"

"I n-n-never asked f-for y-your help..." Hinata muttered as forced herself up, only to fail miserably as her arms were far too weak to support her anymore. Never before had she ever felt such loathing towards anybody, not even her father, but this person...no this _creature_, had certainly earned her resentment. For the first time since she met him, Hinata was actually considering an annullment. Even disowned by her father was laughable when compared to spending the rest of her life with this monster.

"Did you say something?" he taunted. "I can't hear you?"

Exhausted, miserable and all together just having enough of the whole thing together, the bluenette did something she would have never done otherwise in her entire life; she will herself to stand up, shaking as she did so, before matching his glare with her own adamant look. As far as she was concern, this was where she drew the life.

"N-no," she answered shakily. The blonde raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'm sorry...I must have heard you wrong," he mocked, before putting a show of cleaning his ears out. "I thought you were denying my favour, _princess_?"

Perhaps it was that mocking tone that he had suddenly took up, or the sneer as he called her with that degratory term but whatever it was, defiance ripped through the bluenette and even Karin, self-proclaimed expert at intimidation and scare tactics, flinched at the sudden look of anger that flashed through her face. Naruto, on the other hand, smirked mentally at her actions; this was what he had waited for the whole time.

"No," she answered back frostily. The blonde raised an eyebrow at that.

"No?" he asked. Then in a dangerous tone, he asked, "You dare defy me, _princess_? Know your place!"

"I SAID NO!" she yelled back. "I NEVER ASKED FOR YOU DAMN ******* HELP! I HATE YOU WITH EVERY FIBRE OF MY LIVING BODY AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF I GO THROUGH WITH THIS SADISTIC HUMOUR OF YOURS FOR ANOTHER GODDAMN SECOND!"

A moment of silence stretched followed and Hinata instantly regretted her choice of words. Already her previous form of anger, and the courage that came along with it, was suddenly withdrawn and replaced by her more rational and timid side. As Naruto gave her a most dissapointed look at this one rebellious action, she braced herself for the worse. Whatever cruel thing this man could do, it was unimaginable, considering that he had actually demanded seeing her suffer for his own twisted and sick form of sadistic humour. However, whether it was physical or verbal abuse that she was expecting, nothing of the sort came. Instead, a miraculous thing happened; he laughed.

It was soft, short laugh at first but it finally grew until it became one of uncontrollable size, as the tremors ran through the blonde's body. As Hinata glanced eyes wide at his sudden reaction, she feared for her safety. Her fiance was insane. If she didn't get herself away from him right now, there was no telling what he could do to her. However, one look at Karin and she realised something was definitely not right. The red-haired Uzumaki was smirking, amused at her actions, just as much as her cousin was. This was too much for the poor little Hyuuga girl who collapsed once more onto the floor, her head in her hands as her mind struggled to make some form of coherence from this.

"Well, you were right, nii-san," Karin called out suddenly. "Kudos to you I suppose. I tip my hat off to you, you sly dog."

"I'll take that as a compliment," he grinned. Then turning to the bluenette, he answered back in a much softer and kinder tone, "How do you feel, Hina-san?"

The bluenette's first thought was to scramble as far away from the two of them as her four limbs could carry her but logic told her that she wouldn't be able to get away from the two of them in her current state. Instead, she took her fiance's hand as he helped her up gently, before removing that heavy backpack of hers on her back. Still, despite his sudden kindness, she kept a wary distance away from him, unsure of what he was about to do next.

This, however, was something that was not missed by Naruto. Trained in the subtle art of body language, he knew all too well what the bluenette was feeling but it was time to show her her shortcomings.

"Open the bag Hina-san," he continued on in that soft tone but his voice was serious once more. "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for inside."

As both girls turn to give him questioning looks, Hinata slowly did so, unsure of what to expect. When she did open them, she found, to her surprise, rocks on the inside of the bags. But these were no ordinary rocks, mind you, these were rocks that Naruto had collected previously the night before and had painted a single kanji of the bluenettes bad qualities onto each rock. Her heart fell as she read through each one of them; "Regret" "Guilt" "Cowardice" "Despair" "Pathetic" "Useless" but the one that struck out the most was a rather large slab that held a single sentence, "I just want help". As if directed by some invisible string, Hinata slowly released her grip on the backpack but clung on stubbornly to that one single piece. Tears slowly formed as she read that line and sobs soon escaped from her mouth as she realised her whole life had been nothing but such.

A pair of soft hands encircled her, before pulling the slab up and tossing it behind them.

"You don't need to do this alone anymore, Hina-san," her fiance whispered gently into her ears. "All those burdens that you've been carrying this whole time...you don't need to shoulder them anymore."

"Hai, nii-san is right," Karin added. "We're here for you."

The bluenette continued sobbing at their words, never before had anyone ever cared about her in such a manner. True, her sister and her mother were always worried for her sake, but there was nothing much they could do seeing as Hinata was rather adamant in keeping her problems to herself. Now however, she realised, just how foolish she was. She had always needed help but could never find the will to do so. In the end, it had taken someone else to actually show her just how broken she was internally. Once her sobbing subsidded, she forced herself a single squeak in return, "Th-thank you..."

"You don't need to thank us Hina-san," he grinned. "We didn't do anything...I just showed you where you needed to go, that's all. Now let's get you cleaned up."

"Hai," she answered back, still stunned at the pair's antics. As the blonde released her however, something bothered her to no end, something that made her much more restless than the initial torture Naruto had inflicted on her earlier on that day; it was the uncomfortable way that her face was blushing when he had smirked at her, as well as the way she hated when he had released her from his grasp. What was worse however, was the fact that she couldn't stop herself from picturing that silly grin on his face.

Naruto had missed this, luckily for her but Karin had caught sight of it. While she had an inkling to what her cousin was trying to do when he had first agreed to that marriage agreement, she now decided to further own agendas. You might not see it just yet nii-chan, she thought to herself slyly. But I can tell that you wouldn't go this far for just some random girl...oh no, you might have other plans but I'm going to see this whole thing through and it looks like one person has already agreed to it...

_At the Uzumaki residence,_

Her mind was still wondering about the past event when they finally entered the Uzumaki's residence. Just as Karin shook her awake from her frozen state, Hinata suddenly gave a gasp of surprise as she took in the sight before her; there was huge mansion strectched out far in front of them, with a huge garden to accompany it. As if that wasn't enough, there were several expensive cars lined in the driveway next to the mansion but what stood out most of all was a strange spiral shape symbol on the mansion's front door; it was the crest of the Uzumakis. As Hinata froze once more upon surveying the sight before her, Karin sighed out once more; this had happened every single time when Naruto invited someone from his list of friends over. Her cousin, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered in the least.

"You know what to do next," he snapped at her before making his disappearance. As Karin slowly dragged Hinata towards the front door, she had to keep persuading to the bluenette that this was indeed their place of residence, no matter how many times the bluenette keep insisting that it wasn't.

"What makes you keep saying that?" the red-haired girl asked in annoyance as Hinata insisted for the thousandth time that they must be in the wrong place.

"B-because N-n-naruto-san said th-that h-h-his house is a-a b-b-b-broken down shack..." she murmured back, her eyes still darting back at forth at the scenery before them.

"And I'm sure he also told you that he's an office boy, correct?" Karin answered back darkly, to which Hinata returned with a confused look. "That damn *******. Pardon my language, Hina-san."

"Y-you m-mean he's not?!" she choked back. Her host shook her head at that. Tempted though she was to tell Hinata just who the Uzumakis were and who her cousin is, she refrained from doing so. It was one of the rare time where Naruto had demanded a favour from her and loathe though she was that he was asking this, out of everything else as a favour, she was hard-pressed in honoring it. Besides, her cousin rarely ever did anything unless there was a good reason behind it and if he was taking time out to help the poor girl in front of them, then it must certainly be for a good cause...well, most of it anyway.

"Wh-what about y-you?" Hinata asked once they were inside the mansion. If the bluenette had thought the outside looked good, the inside was definitely better. Everything was align perfectly, so much so that it almost resembled a fairy tale; from the pure white furnitures to the huge paintings on the wall, the place oozed a peaceful serene atmosphere about, something that was already beginning to affect the bluenette herself. Her energy reserves were slowly being refilled as she took in the calm sight before her. Maybe it was the feng-shui of the place, or the shock following the revelation that her fiance wasn't all he had initially let on but she was difinitely more awake now than before.

"I'm simply a worker at our humble little company, Hinata-san. You could call me a secretary," Karin answered back, as she ushered the bluenette into a nearby changing room, before flinging the curtains down. "Nothing more and nothing less. Now, can you tell me you sizes?"

Before the bluenette could even voice out a response however, Karin had roughly strip her off her clothes, ignoring the squeals and protests that followed shortly after. As the bluenette stood there, her face a deep blush, Karin simply scrutinized her body, before coming up with a few figures on her fingers. A short murmur after that and she exited herself out of the room, but not before taking Hinata's torn clothes with her. As the bluennet rushed to follow her example, she suddenly became aware that she was not decent to be walking around in her present condition. Especially considering the fact that she was in someone else's house. Sighing inwardly, she sat herself down, almost painfully onto the floor of the sitting room as she prayed for the red-haired youth immediate return.

This whole day has been a mess, she thought miserably to herself. Whatever they were planning for her, she just hoped it was going to be good surprise after everything they had put her through.

A sharp click followed by the sound of the door opening soon snapped her out of her thoughts as she turned to find Karin carrying a towel and a bath robe. Before she could think too long of the matter however, Karin had forced her up, ignoring her yelp of surprises and moans of resentment once more, before reaching in a pocket and pulling out a tape measure.

"Okay...waist done...hip done and finally...upper torso down...seriously what is up with these numbers, Hina-san?! Most ladies would kill for them..." she muttered as she worked away. With a sharp snap of the wrist, she jotted down the three figures onto a notepad before handing the garments to a still somewhat bewildered Hinata. "Showers on the right. Use whatever facilities that you see fit, Hina-san. I need to take care of this one last errand."

Before she could leave however, the bluenette reached out an arm and gripped her arm tightly. "Wh-what's t-t-the whole point o-of this?"

"Didn't you remember what nii-san said back at the office," Karin teased, feigning ignorance. "He said he was going to take you out and I'm in charge of prepping you up."

"A-ano..." Hinata hesitated back, trying to come up with a perfect excuse to go home. It wasn't that she didn't like the blonde but there was something about her go out with him so suddenly that scared her to no end.

"Or...I could tell nii-san that you're too tired to go," Karin answered back, as she tried to keep a straight face on. "He would be **SO **disappointed. Afterall, he did say that he was looking forward to go out with you."

The bluenette's eyes widened at that. Naruto...**WANTED** to go out with her? It seemed just too good to be true and for just a split second, suspicion flashed through her eyes as she turned to stare warily at Karin. So that's how it's going to be, eh? the Uzumaki thought as she saw the look on her face. Well, this is a perfect opportunity to see just how right my theory actually is.

"Oh well, I guess I'll just have to set nii-san up with someone else tonight," she played along in that dejected tone. "Afterall, I'm sure nii-san would be too sad if those reservations I booked at the restaurant went to waste...now let's see...who would be an ideal candidate? There was that famous actress who requested his phone number the other day...or maybe Lady Shion. She did so begged nii-san last week. Or maybe doctor Amaru, she has been pestering him for weeks now...the list just goes on...but just who to call?"

At that, Hinata actually growled. She didn't like to admit it but there was just no way she was going to let this so-called secretary of his, cousin or not, set up **HER MAN **with another lady. Without so much as another word, she grabbed the bath robe, put it on and promptly stomped her way towards the designated baths. Karin grinned at her, before following suit and placing the towel just outside the door.

"I **WAS** right," she squealed happily. "Well, nii-san. I hope you'll be ready for your toughest battle just yet!"

_Later..._

Just what is taking those two so long? our blonde friend thought to himself as he glanced up at the clock. It had been well over an hour and they still weren't done. Shaking his head once more, Naruto turned back to his stack of paperwork that he had ordered Shikamaru to retrieve for him earlier that evening. It was nearly seven now and he knew that if Karin wasn't done with her soon, they might actually have to find a new restaurant to eat, at seeing that their reservations was about to expire soon. Although...what was so famous about Ichiraku's Haven [**Naruto not liking Ichiraku?! BLASPHEMY!**], he really couldn't tell. It was an expensive five star restaurant that was always far too crowded and much too exposed for his taste. Then again, he did ask Karin to arrange this in the first place and the eatery was his little cousin's top choice whenever it came to food.

The seconds ticked by slolwy as he proceeded to continue on his work once more but he didn't have to wait much longer, seeing as it was only a few seconds more before a hand reached out and plucked his pen out of his hand. Sighing, he turned to face Karin, who surprisingly didn't give him a rap on his head this time but was greeting him with a small grin.

I know that smile, he thought warily. Whatever it is you're planning Karin, it's not going to work...

As such, he braced himself for whatever form of trickery she was going to inflict towards him but what Karin did next far exceeded his expectations; the red haired Uzumaki had simply coughed before straightening herself up, her grin still plastered on that face of hers. Then, in an announcing tone, she proclaimed, "Nii-san, I present to you my finest piece of art...Ah...Hina-san...you can come out now...Hina-san? OI! Why are you not coming out!" Her answered earned immediate sweatdrops from the two of them.

"I-i a-am n-not c-c-c-coming o-o-o-ut l-like this!" she squeaked back timidly, to which an angry Karin had growled before dashing back into the dressing room. What followed next was a series of squeaks, growls and noises that sounded like equipment breaking. It was only when Naruto himself decided to interfere, that a somewhat tired looking Karin finally emerged, her hand and the bluenette along with it, still hidden from the blonde's sight.

"As I was saying," she panted. "I present to you, your fiance, Nii-san!"

The whole world seemed to stand still as Karin immediately flung the bluenette in front of him and the blonde's eyes widened at her sudden transformation. He had never considered the bluenette as pretty before, seeing as she had rarely look after herself. However when Karin was through with her, there was only one word to describe her;_ beautiful_. Contrast to her previous baggy and plain looking clothes, she now wore a purple tight fitting evening gown that had a v-shape line in the back, accompanied by a pair of matching black shoes along with the complimentary earings. Her hair, on the other hand, had been tied up into a neat little bun behind her but it was her blushing face that caught Naruto's heart; the way Karin held her arm behind her when she was so embarassed only made her cuter in his eyes. If anything, something as pure and innocent as her should been kept out of other mens' gaze.

"Ahem...nii-san, are you done drooling at your fiance yet?" an agitated Karin voiced out, to which a very annoyed Naruto finally blinked himself out of his reverie. "As I was saying, how do you like the new Hinata-san?"

"I w-wanna d-die," the bluenette squirmed once more when Naruto lost himself in her radiance once more.

"How'd you do it?" he asked evenly, all too aware that his cheeks were flushing as well.

"Like you say, nii-san," she smirked back. "I didn't do anything. All I did was to bring out Hina-san inner beauty and natural appeal to the surface. Isn't she a darling like this?"

"I would prefer it if you let my wife go if you don't mind," he coughed, trying to avoid the question and earning a giggle from his cousin.

Okay, I've had my fun, the red haired thought before releasing her grip on the bluenette and pushing her gently towards the blonde. "Have fun, you two!"

"Huh?! Y-y-you're n-n-not co-co-comm-m-mming?!" Hinata spluterred, to which Karin shook her head.

"Oh no, I don't wanna be the third wheel in this,' she remarked slyly. "Besides, nii-san thought it would be an excellent idea for the two of you have _some private time alone_ if you know what I mean."

"I never said that!" Naruto blushed, when the bluenette glanced at him horrified. "Honest! I swear to God!"

"Time's ticking away, nii-san," she prattled on. "Well, you could take her to that five star hotel...you know the one with the good food, good reception and not to mention..._room service_."

This has gone on far enough! her cousin thought as his fiance began taking steps away from him. Reaching out an arm, he took hers, ignoring her already redening features, and began marching theirs way towards the door in a mechanical like fashion. "Some day Karin, it'll be your turn and when that day happens, I promise you it'll be a long and painful one," Naruto growled as he snatched the car keys from her.

Perhaps but let me remind you why you shouldn't mess with me, nii-san, she thought back. "Do try not to have _too much fun_, nii-san Afterall...it is Hina-san's _first time_, you know?..._First date_ I mean."

"I have half-a mind to fire her right now," he snarled as they left the building. "I'm sure gandmother wouldn't mind a bit."

"P-please d-don't, sh-she was a g-great help t-t-od-day, Naruto-kun," Hinata pleaded. They were now in the parking lot and as he helped her into a rather sleek looking vehicle, the bluenette wondered for the thousand time just who her fiance really was.

"Well, since you asked for it," he muttered, before jumping in himself and five minutes later, they were off.

_With Karin,_

"They make such a cute couple," she giggled as she saw the two of them leaving. "Good thing I've caught all of that on tape!"

"What a pretty young lady," a voice called out from behind her, causing her to jump. "Tell me Karin dear, just who was that?"

"Grandmother! You gave me a shock," the young Uzumaki greeted. "I thought you were asleep."

"No, I was busy organising an event tomorrow night," she answered back. "But tell me, just who was that?"

"Er...that was nii-san's fiance...the one you set him up with?"

"Ah! So that's young Hinata. My my, what a young beauty she's turned out to be all these years," Mito exclaimed.

"You knew her?!"

"Maybe," she answered back mischeveously. "But now that we're on the matter, I want you to inform that cousin of yours to bring her over tomorrow."

"Huh?!"

"Remember what I said about organising an event tomorrow? It's just a little get together among the family, your uncles and aunts..." she trailed off.

"Baa-chan...you wouldn't," Karin muttered now, as she realised what Mito was up to.

"Oh I can and I will," the Uzumaki head answered back firmly. "It's high time Naruto settle down and what better way to force him than to have the entire extended family approve of his relationship to the Hyuuga girl?"

"But Baa-chan, he's only twenty-four!" she argue back. "Besides, we have no idea if everyone else will agree to this!"

"I got married at the age of eighteen, Karin," her grandmother snapped back. "And if she's earned your approval, she'll earn everyone's elses.

And that was where Karin had to call checkmate. People always wondered where the two youngest Uzumakis got their stubborness from; it wasn't from their parents I can tell you that. It was from this old, cunning senior in front of her right now. Mito Uzumaki was revered by all as the matriach of the entire clan for her great deed of building up the company. She had, literally, built an entire empire from nothing but this wasn't what her two granchildren were afraid of. Oh no, what they were afraid of was one simple fact; when she set her mind up to one thing; she saw it through to the end, no matter how small and insignificant it was and...no matter how long it took.

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><p>Chapter End<p>

WHat happens next time on Naruto's and Hinata's date?! Find out next time!

P.S. I thinking of making a jealous Sakura scene but I want your thoughts about it. Bear in mind that she'll only appear for one chapter and that's it though, since I don't want to bash anyone. That said however, I need an antagonist for the next chapter-what do you guys think?


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and thanks for the awesome reviews. There wasn't much of you who commented this time round on my selection of Sakura and so, as a result, I'll choose not to use her. She was originally thought up as a side character and I think it'll be better to keep her that way. That said however, I'm still trying to think up of other Konoha villagers to incorporate into the story, both antagonist as well as protagonist but like usual, that still in the development process.

Anyway, I've digressed quite a bit, so ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

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><p>Chapter 4: First date. First disaster<p>

_Just outside Ichiraku's Haven, that same evening_

"We're here Hinata-san," the blonde called out as he turned off the car engine, before turning to stare at her when she gave no reply. Once more he had to cautioned himself that there was nothing going on between the two of them and nothing could, or for that regard, MUST NEVER, ever happen. She was afterall, a victim in this whole mess just as he was and if anything, this was just a slight diversion that his mind had thought up while he came up with the proper solution for fixing their tiny problem. Although, it was hard to reinforce that particular trail of thought everytime he lost himself in her new ravishing looks. Growling, he wrench himself away from the sight before him. Whatever I'm feeling, he thought fiercely to himself. I better stop thinking about it right now. Remember the plan! Remember the whole point of me bringing her out in the first place.

That seemed to did the trick of allaying his fears for the moment, that is until a new problem arose. Srangely enough, the blonde had completely forgotten his original intention in bringing his date out for that evening. As his mind stuggled to remember why he had gone through with such an idea in the first place, his companion next to him gave a small cough. When he didn't react, she reached out a thin arm before placing it onto his shoulder. What followed next was a series of cascading reaction; the blonde, still lost in his trail of thought suddenly jumped when she did so. His actions, in turn, scared the bluenette, who gave a yelp in surprise and things only escalated quickly when Hinata accidentally smashed her back towards the car door in an effort to get awy from his sudden jerk, before being flung back in the opposite direction by the momentum of her own force and landing, rather awkwardly onto his lap...facedown.

"Ah! G-gomen, N-na-naruto-kun," she hurridely apologised as she hurriedly got up from her embarassing position, her face a very beet red. naruto fared no better as his face itself was matching hers equally in colour. Slowly, he tried clenching and unclenching his fist in an effort to calm himself down but that did little to settle his own raging thoughts or his rapidly beating heart. In retrospect, this was not a very safe situation for the two of them; they were alone in a car, parked out in the middle of nowhere and hidden from plain sight by the darkness of night. Although nothing could ever happened between the two of them, considering that their relationship was still at its budding process and Naruto was too much of a gentleman to even be entertaining such nasty thoughts. Hinata, however, was a different breed altogether but this was not her fault. It was her good friend Kiba's.

While both she and Shino valued their friendship with the slightly wild and outgoing Inuzuka, they were still somewhat unsettled by his rather flirtatious and blunt manner, even after knowing him for so many years already. Kiba had a very nasty little habit when it came to women; he loved to eye them and he loved to flirt but in all regards, he wasn't doing this because he was a player. He did it because it was fun. Fun because, both his two normally silent friends would flinch suddenly as well as groan extremely loudly when he was turn down by every single female that he had happened to hit on. The only time when Kiba would actually admit that his flirting was causing him harm was two years ago; that time, there was a rather pretty looking red hair bespectacle girl [guess who] who didn't take too kindly to his little jokes and she had wasted no time in informing him as such. But what was it that made Kiba regretted his actions? For starters, unlike the normal way the previous females treated him, usually with a face of digust and discontempt, this particular woman had actually smiled and beckon himself towards her. Alarm bells should have been ringing in his head by then but his friends' stunned faces only beckoned him to pushed on and that was where his mistake laid; said girl had proceeded to wait until he was in front of her before emptying an entire can, yes an ENTIRE can of pepper spray onto his face, before delivering a swift knee strike to his groin and walking away quickly without so much as a backward glance.

What was the connection between Kiba's action and Hinata's current fear regarding Naruto, you ask? Simple; following that incident where Hinata had personally helped the poor Inuzuka up and tended to his wounds, the bluenette had wasted no time in berating him for his actions but Kiba had vehemently defended himself by saying that all guys, before receiving a very scary look from Shino and hurriedly corrected his sentence to MOST guys, would try picking up girls in a similar fashion. Now back then, our little bluenette didn't pay the slightest attention to her best friend because she was engaged to a certain raven-haired boy and had know her then-fiance for a long time already. Now however, she was stuck in the middle of nowhere, alone with her new current fiance that she barely had an idea on who he actually was, coupled with the fact that no one watching the two of them and you can perhaps symphatise with her. Ichiraku's Haven had quite a bit of infamy to the former of her fears; it was one of the reasons why it was listed as a favourite hotspot location for young couples. Located just within the outskirts of the village, with no street lights or anything to brighten up the place and you definitely know that it wasn't the lighting that was the cause for this infamy. Rather, it was the darkness that was the reason for its particular five star status but I'm not going to elaborate on that and neither should you.

"Hinata?" he asked carefully. When she didn't reply, he slowly reached out his hand and placed in onto her shoulder. Maybe she couldn't hear him. Taking her lack of response as a green light, he leaned in to tell her once more but was met with resistance. It was the usual resistance that he knew girls were capable of but this was Hinata we were talking about after all. Her resistance was to squirm away from him as far away as possible before flashing him a pair of fearful looking eyes, as if he was going to gobble her up any minute now.

I'm going to have to double Karin's work tomorrow for this! he thought angrily when he saw her reaction. Back home, a still slightly amused red haired girl suddenly sneezed out in confusion before blinking and passing it off as a mere coincidence. Oh how she was going to hate life tommorow but we shouldn't dwell to much on her just yet. Once more, he called out, "Hinata-san? Can you see me?"

"H..." was her barely audible whisper.

"Come again?"

"H-h-hai..." she tried once more, her voice louder this time but still as shaky as before.

"Are you cold?" her fiance asked her back worriedly, seeing the way she was shivering but her next answer only further stocked the fuel for his growing resentment towards his cousin.

"Y-you're...n-not...g-g-g-...g-g-go-going to d-d-d-do-do any-an-thing to me, Naruto-kun?" she squeaked back, fear prevalent in those soft eyes of hers.

I am **SO** going to murder Karin tomorrow, he growled mentally. As he analysed the situation before him however, it seemed far too surreal to believe. Here he was, the current heir to the famed and long standing Uzumaki clan with a girl who was in total fear of him, and to top it off, that girl was his fiance to say the least. Why this was laughable was because there were many others who would be willing to die, just to trade places with Hinata right now but she wasn't to know that afterall. very few people were aware of just who the Uzumaki heir was and that was because both Naruto and Mito liked it that way. No doubt, there were many who knew of the status the Uzumaki heir had but only a selected few knew who the heir was. This was a deliberate set up by both Minato and Kushina when Naruto was first named heir by Mito all those years ago. In an effort to bring their boy up properly, the two parents had managed to raise him far away from his somewhat demanding grandmother without him being aware of his true legacy. When he finally learnt about it however, he knew that his parents were right in their actions and had proceeded to follow in their footsteps to make sure his position wasn't compromised. That said however, a few people, like Amaru and Shion were able to deduce his true standing, not because they were told, but because of their large communication network, their own social standing as well as their own insight and intelligence in pursuing such an elusive information. Although truth be told, the girls who knew his true identity neither cared for his status nor his wealth. Like the bluenette before him right now, what attracted them to him in the first place was due to his kind, humble personality and simple lifestyle despite living in such luxury.

But I DIGRESS, back to the two...

"Of course I won't Hinata-san," he tried assuring her but failed miserably when she visibly recoiled from him once more. Sighing this time round, he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to hold his frustration in as he did so. "Hinata...no _Hina_, I would never do anything to you. I promise but if you still don't believe me, I'll call this whole night off and I'll drop you off back at your place right now."

Now that definitely did the trick as a shadow of doubt flashed through the Hyuuga girl's face. Realising that their first date was going to end up in a disaster just because she was afraid of what _might_ happened, dispelled all her fears for the time being. Besides that, however, was the angry little creature in her chest, born from her sudden interaction with the blonde that afternoon, that was currently growling menancingly at her should she decide to pass this opportunity up. As far as that creature in her chest was concerned, there was no telling when he'll ever take them out again and it wasn't going to let her, its owner, get away with such an act because of cowardice. Regardless of the fact that she knew Naruto was trustworthy enough, as well as her growing infatuation with him, however, she was still unsure of his promise. This man, she thought wryly to herself. Might look trustworthy but he had shown her different facets of his personality throughout the short time that she had known him and she didn't know which one was the right one. Then again, she was never going to find out unless she took this giant leap of faith first. Also, he WAS her fiance anyways...

"P-p-promise?" she asked once more as she took his offered hand.

"I promised, hime," he teased, liking the new nickname that he had came up for her, because in all regards, she was princess in his eyes; from her soft voice and tender looks to her gentle nature and timid personality. A broken princess who had been locked up this whole time yes, but a princess none the less. Unfortunately, she didn't care so much for that particular nickname of his because of the way he had used it that afternoon but there was plenty of time to remedy that later on. Right now, he was here on a date and to have some fun with his adorable little partner. So, as Naruto gently released her hand, to get up and open the door for her, Hinata immediately step out of the car before reaffirming her hold back onto him once she stepped out into the dark night. Slowly, they made their way to the little eatery, Hinata keeping a mindful armful distance away from him. The blonde didn't mind this the slightest though, as he had finally gotten her to trust him, even if it was just a little. Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, there was a sudden noise from behind them, causing the bluenette to suddenly shriek out in fear, before grabbing his hand, arm and all towards her slim figure.

"A-are y-you okay, Hina-san?" he stammered, thankful for the surrounding darkness about them.

"W-what w-w-was th-that?" she whimpered back, tightening his hold on him once more.

"Probably a car," he answered back, his face a slight pink now. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Hina-san. I'll protect you if anything ever happens."

"H-hai..." the bluenette answered back before being very aware of the distance between them. Reluctantly she pulled away from the safety and warmth of his body but Naruto was having none of that. Her previous action had stirred something primal within him and this time, there was a sudden urge within him to keep her close to him, even if it meant breaking their personal space. So, as our young heroine tried to slip herself away, she found, much to her shock and, to her surprise, pleasure, that her date had simply, reached out an arm and slipped it to her opposing waist before pulling her close to him in a vice like grip. She couldn't tell but she knew he was grinning in the dark.

"Remember what I said, Hime?" he teased, pulling her even closer. "I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, so you might as well just stick close to me because _I aim to fullfill that promise_." Hinata left it at that. There were now a few feet away from the restaurant and even though the little place was lighted only by dim candles, she was still uncomfortable about people seeing her in her current formal wear. As such, she resisted the urge to squirm, even though she knew just how deep her blush was currently. Besides, this way, nobody would be able to tell it was her if she kept her current position and that was good reason enough to bear the embarrassment.

"Do you have a reservation?" the waitress asked when he saw the incoming couple. Great another lovey-dovey pair, Ayame thought as she saw their silthoutte approach. Her disgust changed however when she saw the Uzumaki. Oh my, what a hearthrobe!

"Yes," he answered back warily, when she flashed him a big smile. Even in the dim candle light, there was something too suspicious about that smile. "Could you check the reservation onder the name Uzumaki, please?"

And manners to boot! What a fine catch, Ayame mused, before turning her attention to the bluenette. Presently, said girl was scowling at her. In the heat of the moment, Hinata completely forgot herself and like a reflex action, she had tightened her hold onto the blonde before laying her head onto his chest, ignoring her date's sudden look of bewildement as she did so. That more than anything, was a warning to the waitress. If you didn't know what Hinata's action meant, this was it, "He is M-I-N-E, so back off!"

Pity he's taken, Ayame thought once more but that was was life. Now, she could try and wrestle the blonde away from her seeing as Ayame was quite confident in both her own looks and charm but she was also realist enough to admit that there was no way the blonde would let his date go, especially if the way he was blushing was anything to go by. With that, she had straightened herself up before making a show of looking through the reservation list and guiding them towards their table. At the very least, she had gotten herself some eye-candy. Once there were seated, she excused herself away from the pair, eager to find a replacement. Already she didn't like the way the Hyuuga girl was glaring at her.

"Hina...Hina? Hina?" Naruto called as he shook the bluenette slightly. It was only when Ayame was gone from her line of sight that Hinata finally paid any attention to him.

"H-huh?" she asked, her possessive nature locked now that the threat was gone.

"I said do you want to sit on the left or the right?" he asked her when he pointed to their table.

"L-left, I-I think," her answer sounding more like an actual question than an answer but the blonde ignored it. Freeing himself from her grip, he dragged the chair back before softly pushing it underneath her as she came forward. His date settled down, Naruto promptly seated himself as well. Before long, their new waiter came by and handed them their menus but this time, the tables had been turned. As their waiter, a very pale and white haired man in his early twenties served Hinata, Naruto felt a sudden loathing towards the man.

"Hello, my name is Toneri," he greeted her sweetly, as he arranged the tableware in front of them, messing up the Uzumaki's set as he did so. " And I'll be your waiter today, my dear lady."

"Th-thank you?" the bluenette answered back stunned before turning to find the blonde staring back at her angrily.

The blonde, however, was angry not at her but at Toneri. Once Toneri was done, the Uzumaki had wasted no time in waving him off but the young man wasn't as cautious as his female counterpart. In as sarcastic a tone as he could manage, Toneri had simply replied, "Dear me my good sir, I can't just leave such a pretty lady hanging like that. How rude of you for asking me to do so. I'm sure you could wait, can you not?"

If looks could kill, the poor guy would have died long ago but it wasn't him who quailed at the Uzumaki's glare, it was Hinata. Nobody had ever bothered to pay such attention to her in such a manner before and now that they did, she wished they didn't. Glancing through the menu, she quickly picked out the first thing she saw, less her fiance did something he would regret later.

"I-I'll h-have th-the F-f-fugu sashi [puffer fish raw]," she stammered before quickly closing the menu and hastily giving it back to their waiter.

"An excellent choice, my lady. One befitting of your looks and prestige," he told her sweetly. Then, turning to the blonde, he asked in a placating tone, "And you, sir?"

"I've have the ramen," Naruto answered back in that same tone. If his waiter was going to be rude, then he saw no reason to play nice.

"Ramen?" Toneri sniffed. "I see it suits your taste's _just fine_..."

THAT'S IT! Naruto fumed, as he turned to stand, before delivering a quick hooking punch at the waiter. What followed next was forever ingraved into the blunette's mind as she saw their poor waiter flung a yard or two across the room before seeing the blonde launched himself head first after him...

_At the Konoha park reserve, an hour later..._

"P-please k-k-keep still, N-naruto-kun," Hinata murmured as she gently bathed her poor date's blackened right eye with her wet handekerchief. The blonde could only sighed out in exasperation. The whole night had been ruin, just because he let some random waiter get on his nerves. What had followed after the incident was a brawl between the two of them as both males soon lost themselves to their unchained fury. When they were finally done however, Toneri found himself regretting his action as he laid sprawled underneath the Uzumakis' shoes for attempting such a feat. The blonde's victory was short-lived however when Ayame, furious at the sudden disruption in her restaurant, kicked the pair out. While Hinata had continously apologised on behalf of her fiance's actions, Naruto had simply dragged her away from the place. In his eyes, the damn guy had asked for it. Afterall, to Naruto; he had never been so humiliated in his life and if anything, he was extremely upset that Toneri had made him looked bad in front of **HIS** girl. To Hinata however, she was actually rather touched that he had gone this far just because someone else was trying to hit on her but she wasn't going to tell him that after the commotion that he had caused.

"I'm sorry," he apologised, as Hinata gently bandaged the wound. "I ruined our date, Hina-san."

"It's f-fine," she giggled. "I-I've never h-had s-so much f-fun on a d-date before."

The blonde's eyes frowned as he heard that, "How were _your previous dates_, if you don't mind me asking?"

"N-not telling," she mumbled back, her face a deep red once more.

"Why not?!" he growled back as he grabbed her wrist.

"B-b-because I-I d-don't want t-to..." she answered, surprised by her own assertiveness. Whatever it was about the blonde, his presence seemed to only banish her fearful side. Then again, there was no telling what would happen if he found out about her ex-boyfriend and she wasn't about to put him through such a burden when he had already been through enough that night. More than anything, she was afraid that Naruto might get upset at her if he found out she had at least a few lingering affections left towards her ex but while that was indeed true, she felt somewhat satisfied that whatever gap Sasuke had left was quickly being replaced by the blonde. If she was indeed going to go through with this whole arranged thing, it was definitely a good thing to have her feelings chained to the one who she was going to be spending her life with and not with the one who had left her.

"Fine," he answered back, releasing his grip on her. If the bluenette was not willing to tell him her past, then there must have been a good reason for her not to but more importantly than that was the fact that the Uzumaki felt that he owed Hinata something after he had disastrously ruined their first date together.

"W-what do w-we do now, N-naru-to-kun?" she asked as she seated herself next to the bench beside him. It seemed strange that they were still in their formal wear while being in the park at such a late hour.

"I don't know Hina-san," he answered back ruefully. "Truth be told, I never planned this far. It was supposed to be a simple dinner but one way or another, I turned it into a mess."

Before Hinata could reply, there came a melody from behind them as someone played a soft tune on a violin. Where the music came from, they didn't know but just as the question on who had actually arranged all this for their benefit and they soon came to the same conclusion. "Karin," they muttered together in unison.

As Naruto slowly got up, his bluenette held on to his hand. "L-let's just wait, N-naruto-kun," she pleaded. "I-i l-love th-this piece."

"Destiny from my heart?" he asked her back, stunning her by his acute knowledge of the piece that was currently playing.

"Y-you k-know th-this piece?" she asked him, somewhat dumbstruck by his knowledge.

"It's one of my all time favourite violin pieces, Hina-san," he confessed. "I didn't know you loved it as well..."

"I g-guess w-we h-have more th-things in common th-than we th-thought," she sighed happily, as she held his hand in hers, her head bobbing slowly to the beat of the melody.

"Indeed," he grinned back at her before standing up and pulling her along with him. "Dance with me?"

"I b-be honoured to," she whispered back shyly. Taking her hand, Naruto led her towards the centre of the park and underneath the moonlight skies, in the view of the star, they began their little dance. The blonde had always hated the way his parents had forced him to attend formal dance classes but now that he was performing it with her, he couldn't be happier for it. Hinata was of similar mind. Brought up by her strict father, she had forced to learn the more social on-goings of the higher class and while she had always loved to practice her dance moves, Sasuke had never been a perfect partner due to his distaste of the art. Naruto, on the other hand, was an excellent partner and she soon lost count of the number of times he twirled her as well as how many times he had caught her. It was strange how such a simple dance could bring them together but it did.

Up in a tree, surveying the whole thing, was the red haired Uzumaki who could only nod at their actions. Her job done, she signalled for the violinist to leave and even though the music had stopped, the pair did not. Now closed off from the outside world, the two were lost in their own little world and this was their original intention.

"Looks like your plan worked," she told the violinist as the figure approached her. "I've never seen nii-san looked at anyone in that way before...they're falling in love."

"True but it'll take more than that to convince Naruto," the figure answered back. "If anything, he's more stubborn than Kushina-neechan."

"What do you propose we do, Uncle Nagato?" Karin asked now, as the figure revealed himself.

"Nothing for now, Karin," Nagato smirked. "Afterall, it's only when Minato-san confessed to Neechan that my cousin finally realised her feelings. If anything, we need to get Hinata to admit her feelings towards Naruto."

"And how do we do that?" Karin asked warily. "The Hyuuga girl is too timid to even ask for help in the first place."

"We'll think of something," Nagato replied. Afterall, that jealousy of hers could prove to be very useful...

* * *

><p>Chapter end<p>

That's it for now guys. i've been working on this for four hours and it went through a bit of editing since I couldn't quite get the atmosphere of the whole situation nailed down right. Tell me if its alright and like usual, don't forget to leave you thoughts in the comment section!

See you next time guys!


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and yey for more chapters! I'm reasonably glad with the way the story has managed to amass readers so I'll just devote more my attention to this little side story. Truth be told, Moonlight Kingdom has been rather hard to progress lately although I have planned an overall plot to it. Ironically enough, this story has no overall plot but gets developed rather quickly when I just decide to sit down and write it. Not sure how that's actually working out just yet... Tell me if it gets a bit too slow or too fast, guys. Like usual, I am an amateur when it comes to this...

**On a side note: **I've deliberately decided to cut down a few of the character's age, as well as bumping a few of them up. Again, not sure if its doing any good or harm but please do inform me as such.

Anyway, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: I won't say I love her...<p>

_At the Hyuuga Residence,_

Our story begins in the wee hours of the day, just after dawn had broken, in a tiny corner of the Hyuuga household where a tiny eight year old girl was slumbering away peacefully in her dreams. Her sleep was cut short however, when a very aromatic and mouth watering smell waffled into her rooms, before travelling its way up to her nose. Even in her trance-like state, little Hanabi could barely resist the urge to continue sleeping, no matter how much her tired body was fighting back.

Being an eight year old was already quite exhausting, considering that you needed at least twelve hours of rest a day to be fully energised, each day. To be a Hyuuga however, eight hours of sleep a day was already considered a privilege and ten hours, a luxury. This was because, like her sister before her, she was forced upon by her father to devote endless amounts of effort and energy to activities that might benefit her in the future as a potential heir to their rapidly growing organisation. And like her sister, Hanabi hated the way she was forced against her will into doing such things. As a tomboy, tea ceremonies and flower pressing were considered the absolute bottom level of her disdain when all she wanted to do was to hang out with her guy friends and catch bugs and what-not.

So, as her tired body struggled to resist that undeniable temptation once more, and return to the peaceful tranquility of rest that her mind so desperately required, she turned her body away from the wafting scent and buried her nose back into her pillow. The scent however, still lingered in her mind and her stomach began grumbling as it realised how empty it currentlywas. Before long, it gave out a large growl and following that, signals were sent to her brain to get up and get it filled. Sighing softly at the revelation that she was not going to get anymore rest now that her stomach was being difficult, Hanabi drowsily dragged herself up from bed, her arms still clutching hold of the little nine-tail fox her sister had given her only a few days ago.

"What's onee-chan doing up sp early cooking?" she asked her plushie drowsily as she began towards the kitchen where that delicious aroma was sure to be coming from. Rubbing the sand from her eyes, her groggy mind began processing the situation before her; usually when her sister made such yummy foods, it was either a very special occasion or she was very depressed. Now, there wasn't any special occasion that she was aware of but lately, her sister did seem to be rather down...

Her doubts were replaced however, when she heard Hinata whistling merrily in the kitchen as she worked away making her dishes. That more than anything else, banished away whatever form of tiredness from her still sleepy mind. Slolwy, almost hesitantly, she opened the door, grimacing as it creaked upon her touch. Inside, she did indeed find her sister behind the entire commotion but apart from the whistling, she also sported a small smile as she mixed away at some sort of a batter in that white appron of hers. Now eyes fully open, she wondered just had actually caused her sister to be in such a happy mood.

"Onee..chan?" Hanabi called out worriedly. Something was definitely not alright; her sister was drop dead tired only two days ago and judging by the tired look in her eyes, she didn't manage to get any sleep at all last night but yet...where did she suddenly get all this energy from? Had she finally snapped from all the pressures, both inside and outside the household?

"H-huh?!" the older Hyuuga spluttered, dropping the laddle she was working as her sister caught her unaware. Turning, she found Hanabi who was still eyeing her with a mixture of worry and fear at her current predicament. Putting the bowl she was holding down, she straightened up briefly, before giving her sister a tired little smile as she walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. "N-nightmare d-dear?" she asked lovingly.

The eight year old returned the gesture by hugging her back. "Uh-huh," she denied, shaking her head slowly. "You woke me up, Onee-chan..."

"I d-did?" she blinked before the brunette pointed to the mess about them. An apologetic smile replaced the confused look on her face as she turned to stare what her sister was pointing at before realising that it was indeed her fault that Hanabi had been woken up at such an early hour. "I'm so-sorry I woke you u-up H-hanabi but m-maybe I-I can get y-you something?" she apologised and earning a grin from the eight year old. This was what her younger sister was waiting for afterall.

"I am hungry..." she trailed off, rubbing her belly slightly in the process, to which Hinata actually laughed.

"Sit d-down dear, I'll g-get y-you some breakfast," the bluenette cooed back as she went back to her task at hand. Before long, a steaming pile of hearty goodness placed on a plate was laid out in front of the younger girl, who polished it up in less than five minutes flat. She looked longingly for more but her sister shook her head sharply; an overfull belly could prove to be very disastrous in the morning but if that was the price to be paid for her sister's excellent meal, then Hanabi would gladly accept it; the bluenette's dishes might be first class but she rarely ever did the cooking nowadays because of her tiring new job. That said, however, why had she woken up so early just to make breakfast?

Her question was soon answered as the bluenette quickly packed a vast portion of her dish into two neat little containers before wrapping them up with some plastic. As Hinata began cleanning the dishes, Hanabi finally asked the question she had been dreaded up till this moment, "Who's that for onee-chan?"

Flinching, she tried to pass it off as lightly as possible, "M-mine, dear."

"Uh huh...then, why are they two of them?" the brunette accused. In her eyes, there had only ever been one such instance when Hinata had done such a thing and that was when she had prepared a boxed lunch for Sasuke four years ago, back in their high school days. The bluenette had never done it more than once because, though there was nothing wrong with her meal, and Hanabi couldn't understand the reason for his behaviour, but Sasuke had simply told her to stop making meals seeing as it was unfitting for his future wife to be doing so and the bluenette had since stopped. Now, she knew that her onee-chan was no longer seeing that ungrateful Uchiha but if her suspicions were indeed true, then she was probably doing it for Naruto. Just as soon as the thought ran through her mind, a naughty grin flashed through her face, "So onee-chan...how far did you and Naruto-kun _go_ yesterday?"

"Ha-hanabi!" Hinata scolded as her sister tried to pass off her laugh as a small cough. It was then that something caught her attention. "W-wait...how d-did y-you know?"

"Nejinii-san told me," she teased, still trying to control her laughter. Before long however, it burst out as she saw the bluenette's face reddened at the revelation of their date yesterday. It was one thing to have people her age tease her but having your younger sister tease you for it...now, THAT was embarassing. And normally Hanabi wouldn't be so quick to approve of her sister's new boyfriend but in her mind, if Naruto was able to achieve such an expression from her severely depressed and traumatised sister in only two days, then he was, for all intents and purposes, "alright", she guessed. Afterall, it took the damn raven haired boy two years, or so her sister had told her previously to earn even so much as a smile from her whereas the blonde had managed to do this and more in only two days.

Sighing softly, the bluenette fixed herself a cup of coffee before sitting down beside her sister. Hanabi, in turn, wrapped her small arms around her sister's slender frame as she tried conveyed her feelings of approval at her new found relationship. "You like him don't you, nee-chan?" she whispered happily. "You're face is practically oozing rainbows!"

"A bit...just a tiny bit," she admitted, sipping her coffee slowly. "L-last n-night felt l-like a d-dream..."

"OOO! Onee-chan and Naruto-kun sitting in a tree..." she began when her sister clasped her mouth tightly.

"H-hanabi! Stop!" the bluenette blushed, thoroughly embarrassed now. Her action however, only spurred her sister on. "O-onegai!"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" the eight year old trailed. "First comes love *mumble* *mumble* marriage-"

"Please H-hanabi," she begged and seeing her sister's sorrowful face, she stopped. Besides, they were more_ personal matters_ to get down with...

"So what happened?" her sister asked curiously. "Did he touch you? Did you like it? Was he a good kisser?"

"N-not t-telling," the older Hyuuga whispered back, her face now a very scarlet red. "But, sh-shame on y-you! W-we d-didn't do any o-of th-those things! Especially not that l-last one!"

"You're no fun," she pouted when her sister tightened her arms around her. "Why won't you tell me?"

"S-some things a-aren't for little k-kids to know, dear," she answered back, rubbing her cheeck against her sister's head. "I j-just hope h-he likes my meal t-today."

"I'm sure he will nee-chan," she answered back as she snuggled her way back into her sister's arms.

I'm not even sure if he's the least bit interested in me, she thought back night before had been amazing but once the dance had stopped, the magic spark between the two of them ended just as abrutply as it started. Naruto had then, wasted no time in taking her back home where he had hastily bid her a quick farewell before speeding off home, his mind elsewhere throughout the entire journey back. That more than anything else, pained her to no end. She didn't know what the blonde thought about her or their date last night but she knew that she had already begun developing complicated feelings towards her fiance. This, however worried her instead of allaying her fears because she didn't know how he felt about her and if there was anything experience had taught her, unreciprocated feelings were best left **alone**. If only he wasn't her fiance...if only...

_With the blonde, later same morning,_

"And you have a very important meeting with diplomat Gaara of Wind country after two," a very flustered Shikamaru informed his superior, as Naruto leafed through each and everyone of the paperworks piled up on his desk once more.

"And Gaara is bringing his sister, Temari along, nii-san," Karin added as she flipped through the pages on her little checklist. "From what I know, they're quite peculiar about first impressions. I've set up everything to be to their taste though, so that should be fine. If all goes well, we'll score a major hit with Wind country.

"Good," he answered back, eyes focused on his monitor once more. "Be sure to bring my old friend to the guest room located on the third floor..."

"I'll get on that right away," the Nara answered back. "Chief, it's nearly one o'clock, what do you want for lu-"

He never got to finish the sentence as there was a soft knock on the office door, followed by a very annoyed voice, "Sir, there's someone here who insists on seeing you."

"I'm kinda busy at the moment if you don't mind," he answered back, leafing through the documents once more. If it was urgent, he thought, he would have made a meeting.

"I've told you that Uzumaki-sama's busy!" the rather agitated scretary called out as their invisble guest. "Don't bother showing your face around here ever again, you ruffian or I'll call security. Now get lost! Who do you think you are, passing yourself off as someone close to Naruto-sama! Are you draft?! Everyone knows the Uzumakis have red hair!"

"G-gomen..." the unseen person answered back and sealing the poor secretary's fate. There's a saying back in Asia that cautions everyone, regardless of rank or social standing to treat everyone else as equals because you just might get the wrong end of the stick and in this case, the warning was well warranted. This was because, upon hearing the sound of his dear fiance being verbally abused, Naruto had immediately growled, got up and marched towards his door before wrenching it open and earning looks of extreme wariness from Karin and one of confusion from the Nara.

"Who..." Shikamaru began.

"That would be his wife, Nara-san..." she answered back warily, as the Nara's eyes widened. All too soon, there came shouts from the outside followed by the whimpering of the poor secretary as the blonde hurled obscenities at her for treating the bluenette so poorly. "You do well never to cross Hina-san, Shikamaru..."

"With the way he's treating her, only a fool would even think about such a thing," Shikamaru answered back. "He must think the world of her..."

"Nope. Not yet anyway," Karin grinned back. "But that's the plan and it seems to be progressing nicely."

"Are you okay, Hina-chan?" the blonde called out as he re-entered the room together with the bluenette, his coat around her shivering form. "I apologise for my secretary's behavious. She didn't hurt you or anything, did she?"

"N-no," the bluenette squeaked back before greeting the Nara and Karin.

"I'll take care of the rest nii-san, Hina-chan looks like she wants to tell you something," the red haired voiced out before pushing Shikamaru towards the door. Then in a quiet voice only the two of them could hear, she pressed, "You still haven't told me what happened yesterday, nii-san..."

"That's for you to **never** find out..." he muttered back, before seating himself back onto his chair and averting his gaze from the bluenette. "So, Hina-chan, why did you come over to find me?"

"I j-just wanted t-to m-meet you," she replied.

"..."

"Na-naruto-kun?" she asked once more but still got no reply. This time, the blonde did look up this time but make no mistake, when I say it was killing him then. He wanted to say something to her and unfortunately for him, words failed him at that instant. The reason? Blame it on memories. Bad memories have a nasty habit of leaving you flinching in the middle of the night when your mind decides to play horrible moments of your life just to see you suffer and cringe but like bad memories, good memories could too. The entire thing that had happened between the two of them yesterday was something that the blonde would come to treasure for the rest of his days but right now, it cause his words to stick to his mouth and as he watch the bluenette seating before him, a mixture of frustration, loathing and self-denial washed through him. As Karin had put it, he was beginning to fall for the bluenette but was adamant in rejecting them. It was also the reason for his bad behaviour towards her during their last minutes together. Perhaps it was childish for him to act as such but like so many self-sacrificing men before him, Naruto believed that Hinata had only agreed to their engagement because she was forced too. Had he indeed known that the bluenette would reciprocrate his tender feelings, he would have acted differently. Sadly, a relationship like theirs were one that only happened on dramas and fairytales [**oh, the irony...**] and being too set and pragmatic in his ways, Naruto would never have believed such a thing...even if Hinata herself, were to confess to him at that moment.

"..." A look of pain flash through his fiances' eyes when he remained silent.

"G-gomen," she answered back, her voice breaking. "I-I'll l-l-leave right a-away..."

"No!" he called out before grabbing her hand as she made a mad dash towards the door. "I d-didn't mean it th-that way."

Instead of words, she tried pry herself free but the blonde kept an iron-tight grip on her wrist, before reaching out and grabbing her other wrist. And funny enough, similar to the blonde, Hinata's current view of their situation on why he didn't want to see her right now because she thought that she was only his fiance in name only. Hence, apart from his free time, she had **NO** place in his life, none whatsoever. In her eyes, the only reason why he had even bothered to entertain her was because she was his fiance and he was obligated as such; he didn't care about her especially after not what happened last night. But the Uzumaki wasn't the Uchiha and in all honesty, though Naruto didn't actually want to see her now when he was still so distressed after what happened yesterday, he couldn't just chase her out like that. Even when his entire instinct was telling him to distance himself from her...

"Stay with me, please," he pleaded and miraculously, she stopped struggling.

"Na-naruto-kun..." her voice choking once more, although there was a faint sparkle of hope behind those soft eyes of hers.

He pulled her closer towards him this time. "Please..." he said, begged almost but the bluenette was having none of that. Now that, there were alone and their akwardness had shattered any form of personal barriers between them, the bluenette couldn't control her emotions any longer. He had left her hanging the night before, saved her from his rude secretary, only to then give her a look of sheer distress and now he was begging her to stay?! Just what right did the blonde have to be toying with her feelings as such! She didn't know to feel grateful or sad...heck, she didn't know what to feel at all. Period.

"Wh-what do y-you want f-from me, Naruto-kun?" she cried, her tears flowing freely now and earning a very worried look from the blonde. "Y-you...you left m-me grasping y-yesterday. Th-then you i-invite me in only t-to ig-ignore me?"

"Hina..."

"I-if y-you h-hate me, j-just say it!" she sobbed, no longer caring what he thought of her anymore. This man had shown her the equivalent of both Heaven and Hell on earth and she didn't know what to think anymore. He had gone through such pains to save her and bring her happiness, only to snatch all of them away and replaced her previous hope with doubt and despair. If this was not torture, then she didn't know what was. Anything was better than the bottomless chasm he had shown her. Naruto, on the other hand, was naturally confused at her reaction. She had never dare so much as even hint to what she was feeling and now she had broken down right in front of him? He was just as bewildered as her but that didn't mean he was unprepared. Years of training and hardship reasserted itself in him because as a leader, it was his duty afterall, to cut a path for those where no path lies. So, as Hinata cried out her misery, Naruto simply pulled her into a tight hug, ignoring the vicious resistance that followed soon after. He knew the bluenette was uncomfortable with physical contact but instinct told him that this was the right thing to do.

"I never hated you," he answered back, as the bluenette tried to escaped once more. "I don't know what gave you that idea...but I never hated you, hime. Why would you believe such a thing?"

"Th-then...why did y-you leave me y-yesterday?" she barely whisper. The blonde flinched at that. This was what he had been dreading the whole time. "Tell m-me, Na-naruto-kun...o-onegai."

No answer

"P-please Na-naruto-kun..." she begged and when there was no still response, a small wail escaped her mouth.

"I-I don't know!" he finally answered when she struggled even more this time. "I don't know Hina...I...I was afraid Hina...I was so afraid...and that's why I ran...far away...from you..."

"I kn-knew it," she whispered miserably. "Y-you don't l-like m-me at all."

"Hina, please..."

And that was where everything took a turn for the worst...

"I-I'm s-sorry Na-naruto-k-kun," she replied, hating her next choice of words. "I-I...I j-just can't do th-this anymore..."

"NO! I'm not letting you go!" he snapped back angrily, tightening his hold on her even more.

"I-it's f-for the b-best..." she stammered back, her heart breaking in the process.

"Hina...don't do this...please...stay with me..." he pleaded. "I love you, hime. Don't leave me..."

"'H-h-huh?!" she flinched. "N-naruto-kun..wh-what-"

"I said I love you," he lied, although strangely enough his heart didn't see it as such. "I love you and I don't want to spend another moment without you, so please stay."

It was Hinata's turn to be quiet but when he finally released her from his embrace, the bluenette had mad a mad dash for the door once more. This time, however, Naruto didn't give chase. He simply went back to his desk and groaned into his hands. What was I thinking he thought furiously. How could I say that?! What on God's earth possessed me to say such a thing?! A second later, there was a sharp click followed by the footsteps of someone coming in.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Naruto," Karin said as she entered the office, her checklist still in her arms. "I found Hina-san in tears after she left your office...what the Hell happened?!"

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"Naruto!"

"I don't know!" he answered back, using the phrase for like the hundredth time that afternoon. "I don't know what going on anymore...This was supposed to be simple thing...why did it turn so bad? What did I do to deserve this?!"

"Care to elaborate that last part, nii-san?" Karin muttered dangerously.

"...there's no point in me hiding it anymore," he sighed and proceeded to explain everything to his cousin. By the time he was done however, he braced himself for whatever form of retaliation from the red haired girl but none came. Instead, Karin did something far worse, she had simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Let me get this straight, nii-san...you actually told her...that you love her? Is that right?"

"It was an obvious lie!" he snarled back. "I shouldn't have said that!"

"Then why did you say it?" she questioned back and earning a very horrified look on his face as he realised the intention of her words. "Nii-san, you might not admit it but I think...there is something between the two of you..."

"Even if that were true...its too late now..."

"This was what you wanted right? Well, why are you so miserable?" Karin challenged back.

"I..." he began, racking his brain for an answer and finding none. "It was only our first date...how did it escalate so quickly like this?!"

"I know your intention's nii-san. Trust me I do," his cousin said gently. "But remember what baa-chan told us. Making the right decisions never count if they're for the wrong reasons."

"So you're saying I shouldn't have courted her in the first place?"

"No, I'm saying that **both** your reasons and you decisions are **wrong**," she corrected him. "You started all of this mess in the first place because you never intended to open your heart in the first place and like it or not-"

"She's opened my heart anyway," he finished dumbly. "Karin...what do I do?"

It was a sad day seeing him asking her for help when throughout everything the two had been through, Naruto was always the one giving advice to her. Still, Karin loved her cousin like a brother and whatever pain he felt, she did as well. "You could talk to her, you know?"

"Great idea Karin. You think Hina-chan will just take the time to listen to me when I tell her that my entire plan was to get her to bulk up and stand up for herself this whole time?" he retorted. "I don't know about you but if I was Hina-chan, I'll probably never want to talk to me again..."

"M-maybe s-she w-would if you g-gave h-her a c-chance to..." a voice squeaked just loud enough for him to hear from outside the office.

"Y-you d-didn't..." Naruto muttered horrified as he cast a look of despair at Karin.

"You did ask for my help, nii-san," she smirked back. "Don't waste this opportunity. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Gaara should be arriving just about now."

With that the cunning little red hair opened the door, pushed the bluenette in, before making her getaway and leaving the pair alone once more.

A painful silence stretched as the the couple refused to make eye contact with one another, the seconds ticking by slowly. Finally though, the bluenette broke it.

"D-did y-you mean it, Na-naruto-kun?" she asked, her face a red colour once more.

"No," he told her gravely but hurridely pressed on when she looked like she was about to leave once more. "Wh-what about you, hime?"

"I...I..." she struggled before giving up. Like the blonde before her, her emotions were hay wired at the moment. They were both feeling the same uncomfortable twinge whenever they were together and yet whenever they were not, that twinge was replaced by an equally, if not more, painful emptiness. It was strange indeed how things had really escalated immediately after their fist dat but they had both tasted the first feeling of true love when they danced away under the moonlight and as any love guru will tell you; once you take even a tiny sip of it, you'll be hard pressed to live without it anymore. Oh, no doubt, you could break it but that'll leave a huge gap in your heart that leave you wishing for the alternative back. Also, bear in mind, this was no simple teen pity crush, this was actual true love, slow as it was in blossoming between the pair, and such a pure bond was nigh on impossible to snap...without horrible consequences.

"Hina," Naruto began once more. "I...like you. I truly do but I can't say I love you. At least not yet..."

"Me t-too, Naruto-kun," she answered quietly. "I'm s-sorry I c-cried like th-that..."

"I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me for leaving you just like that yesterday," he bragained, hoping to mend this rift between them.

"O-okay," she smiled and finally the blonde heaved a sigh of relief. It looked like things were going back to normal, or at least as normal as they were before this had happened.

"Before I do anything else though," he exclaimed, making his way towards her and before Hinata knew it; Naruto had leaned forward and placed a very gentle and swift kiss onto her lips, causing her to squeaked out in embarassement and bury her face in her hands once more. "I want to do this properly..."

"H-huh?" There was something new in that tone of his and she risked peeking a glance at his face, only to find him smiling sheepishly, his face just as red as hers.

"Hina," he began, removing the gold band she was currently wearing. "I gave this to you in the hope that nothing would happened between the two of us during this hundred day arrangement. Now, I take that back. I want to change my initial prospect. A do-over if you will."

She nodded her head at that, still too embarass to speak.

"These next hundred days...I don't want to find a way to break us up anymore. I want to find a way to help us grow...together because whether we stay as one or leave as two, that's the right thing to do and I believed that's what we should be doing," he concluded, before pushing the gold ring back onto her finger.

"H-hai N-naruto-kun," she whispered back gently. "W-will you st-still t-teach me l-like you s-said you will?"

"Only for you, hime," he teased before placing yet another kiss, this time on her cheek and earning yet another squeal of indignation. "Now...just why did you come find me in the first place?"

"Oh..." Now that the intial squabble between the two of them were settled, it seemed extremely embarassing for the bluenette to explain her reason for being here in the first place, especially considering the fact that her simple action had actually led to such a sudden development between the pair of them.

"I thought we were past that now, hime?" he teased her once more and Hinata finally sighed. Since there was no going around it, she might as well just get it done with as soon as possible.

"I m-made y-you lunch, Naruto-kun..." she answered, her face angled towards the right so as not to show him just how embrassed she was at the moment.

"I can do lunch..." he answered back emotionlessly, wondering just how on Earth something as simple as lunch had led to their current predicament.

* * *

><p>Chapter end.<p>

THAT WAS EXTREMELY HARD TO WRITE. Seriously guys, I'm quite burned out for a quite a bit. This took me twelve Goddamn hours as I had to keep crossing out which plots I had to keep and which one I wanted to scraped. I really appreciate it if you could review your thoughts on this chapters. I'm not dure if going with the whole 'direct' road was the right thing to do but it was the only one that fitted perfectly in this scenario. Similarly, I didn't think it was worthwhile having Naruto evade the whole marriage thing when it so clear he's begginning to like Hinata.

It'll be quite a while till the next chapter though since I've collected all my research data for the Moonlight Kingdom and am going to work on it as soon as possible.

As such, this is a good time for you guys to inform me how you want the story to progress. Do you want more fluffly scenes? More angst? Jealous ex-girlfriend or maybe even a gender bender? Remeber though, the limit is one week and I'll progress onwards so **please do leave any ideas you want me to explore on**.


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys, as promised, the week is up and I'm back to writing! I better start working up the creative juices while the holidays are still up. Once the new year starts, I don't know when I'll be able to post up new chapters. Anyway, I have taken into considerations all your thoughts and suggestions and I will be implementing them as I see fit. Apart from that, there's nothing else to discuss really, so on to the next chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Meeting the in-laws<p>

_At the Uzumaki coorporation, with Karin..._

"I apologise for the inconvenience Gaara-sama but please believe me when I say that nii-san is rather busy at the moment," our beloved red haired girl called out as she handled the meeting with the diplomat alongside the still somewhat flustered Nara. Presently all four of them were currently in the guest room located in the building. If the diplomat was somehow insulted that his good friend was not there to greet him, he did not show it however. Gaara's sister, on the other hand, did not take this too kindly. The locals from the Wind nation had personally came over on the request of the blonde Uzumaki and from her own point of view, she felt as if they were rather brushed off suddenly. What could be more important to him than having his two good friends arriving personally to greet him in person?

"This is an outrage, Karin!" Temari muttered. "How dare Naruto just push us aside so suddenly like this?!"

"Once more, I hope you will humbly accept my sincere apologies," Karin offered, bowing much more elaborately this time round. On the inside however, she was a tad bit annoyed. No doubt she's only here to see nii-san, the red haired thought. Afterall, why else would she tagged along when Gaara usually venture into business meetings alone? The dynamic between the two girls could be chalk up in one word if a writer was asked to do so and funny enough, this was the word "antagonistic".

This was funny because despite only meeting each other for only a few times, Karin had developed a rather bad aftertaste upon meeting the blonde. Likewise for Temari. Like so many of the girls before her, Temari had originally found Naruto's upbeat and blunt personality somewhat rude but that view shifted dramitcally when she later realised that he was intentionally doing so for the better of the clan and the coorporation. In the business world, pleasantries and kiss-ups were considered a liability, most often because they prevented the more talented members from helping a coorporation advance as well as preventing important matters from being put into light.

Naruto, on the other hand, eschewed these unnecessary things and to him, there were only three simple questions that needed to be answered whenever someone wanted to enter into a transaction with him. "Why do you want to enter into a dealing with me?", "What can you offer for me and what can I do for you in return?" and most importantly, "Why SHOULD I consider this?" It seemed rather trivial but believe it or not, most of his successes depended on whether a person was able to answer them properly or not. Honest and good natured businessman were able to do so easily but crooked ones found it much harder to do so. Again psychology came into play here. When you ask an honest person, they might be hesistant in the first place but their honesty always carried through in the end. Dishonest ones however gave rather sketchy answers. From their point of view, its a fish eat fish world out there and seeing that they've always aimed to take advantage of everyone else around, why shouldn't someone do the same to them? Such an action wasn't missed by Naruto and if he suspected even so much as a hint of it the contract would be terminated before it even started.

"Enough Temari," Gaara rebuffed when his older sister looked like she was about to argue back. The Wind country was a rather rich nation due to their large gold reserves but like any country with an abundance for natural resources, there were many that seeked to exploit that. Gaara, had therefore been tasked by his father, to sniff out any back handed coorporations that desired to do so, while at the same time reaffirming the relationship with the Uzumakis. It was, afterall, due to the Uzumakis in the first place who discovered the vast and plentiful reserves in the Wind country but unlike other more opportunistic men, Mito had other ideas back then as the coorporation's head. She had seen first-hand how the rest of the elemental nations had looked down upon the Wind country as well as the struggling lives of the people and instead of buying off the land where the reserves were, she had instead forged a deal with them. The clan and coorporation will be responsible for the extraction of such valuable ores with both sides having fifty percent of the shares and in return, it would be up to the Uzumaki's honour and reputation to see to the welfare of the people.

Many question Mito's deal in this regard but Gaara's grandfather had paid them no heed. If Mito indeed had ulterior motives, she wouldn't have informed him as such. The two had then wasted no time in signing a contract and thus a strong bond was forged between the two, a bond that carrier on through until today. It was for this fact alone that Gaara did not like the way his sister was pestering Karin, Naruto's cousin whom he knew the blonde held in high regards. That said however, Gaara did hold a bit of a crush on his red haired counter part but hadn't been quite vocal in expressing himself just yet. Unknown to him however, Karin was all too aware of it but had decided to play along with it until she herself sort out her own feelings towards the red hair youth. Oh he was a great catch, don't get me wrong but believe when I say that many were somewhat intimidated by his quiet and stern like nature, a fact that I'm sure offset a large number of females...Karin included, I'm afraid.

"Thank you Gaara-san," the red haired smiled back, to which the diplomat tilted his head in return, his face a slight blush. "I've taken care of everything. Like we've reviewed so before, nii-san and I will be accompanying the both of you to Wind country to oversee the arragements made by our grandparents before us. If that's all Gaara-sama, Temari-sama, I suppose we can call it a day?"

"I suppose..." Gaara answered back but his sister wasn't as lenient.

"I didn't come all the way here just to get brushed off!" she hissed, before marching off towards the blonde Uzumaki's office, a desperate Karin chasing after her.

"No wait! You can't! Nii-san is very busy-" Karin argued, trying her best to stop the still somewhat agitated Matsuri and failing miserably. Her male red haired counterpart on the other hand, gave vent to a sigh of exasperation before following suit. Between the Naruto and him, Gaara wished that he could have a sibling that, would actually be able to help in out in his daily affairs instead of causing trouble. But what are you're going to do? She still older than him and hence was slightly subservient to her in that regard. On the flip side, she wasn't like Kankurou who always got the worst end of the stick from their father seeing as he was the oldest in the family and the first born son.

What I do to trade assisstants with Naruto right now, he thought glumly. There were now a few feet away from the office when, against her better judgement, the blonde girl flung open the door, a very distraught Karin praying that her cousin would be able to find it in his heart to forgive him later on. As for Gaara...well let's just say the sight before him amused him to no end. Few things could ever perk up his somewhat boring lifestyle but seeing Matsuri's face of satisfaction turned to one of betrayal and hurt as all three of them took hold of the sight before them made his day, heck his entire YEAR. So, I hear you ask, what was the sight before them? Naruto was definitely in his office, yes but what made his avid admirer ticked off was the fact that he wasn't there _alone_. Seeing him together with the Hyuuga girl was torment enough but try imagining her frustration when she found Hinata snuggled up on his lap with the both of them sporting intense blushes. And to add salt to the wound, Hinata was actually spoon-feeding, yes I kid you not, **SPOON-FEEDING** Naruto her home-made meal, her arm stopped in mid flight as the pair took in the unexpected guest before them. Now tell me this, if you were her...how would you feel?

Bastard, was the only thought that came to the poor blonde girl's mind. What she was feeling currently was the hurt and betrayal a girl normally would have felt when she caught her boyfriend cheating on her, in plain sight, in front a wide view of audience, at the most embarassing and most awkward situation. Seeing as the two were currently sharing a rather intimate time together right then and this was not actually a hard idea to follow. Okay, maybe cheating would be a rather unfair word since the Uzumaki had never returned her feelings before. Perhaps a better sumarisation would be the way a stalker felt having their beloved confessed to the public that they were actually getting married...depressing I know but as elaborated before, unreciprocated feelings were best left alone. In this case, Matsuri was an ideal example of one who chooses not to do so. Unfair I know but could you really blame someone for turning another down because they did not see their admirers in the same light?

"Who the hell is that?!" she growled, just barely able to stop herself from reaching out and separate the two apart. Unfortunately, her antics only worsened the situation seeing as the sudden growl and anger had scared the timid Hyuuga girl so much that Hinata had immediately drop the spoon she was holding before flinging her entire body towards her dear Naruto in a vice-like grip.

"Eep!" she had cried, unaware that her fiance's face was even redder now because of her actions.

"Uh...I t-trust you find our contract s-satisfactory, G-gaara-san?" Naruto managed to stammer back, earning a huge sweatdrop from Karin in return.

Put him through an entire section of the most stubborn, thick headed clan elders, along with some of the harshest shareholders in the company and he wouldn't even so much as flinch, Karin thought. But catch him unaware with Hina-chan and THIS is how he tries to ammend the situation?! Seriously nii-san?! WITH SMALL TALK?! THAT"S YOU IDEA OF A SOLUTION?! Great...just ******* great...

"Better than...*snicker*...expected *snicker* Naruto-san..." Gaara choked, before excusing himself out, his laughter ringing loudly in the hallway.

"I have half a mind to retract that contract!" Temari yelled back in retaliation. "We've spent an entire two hours discussing the terms and I find you here womanising?! Just who the heck do you think you are?!"

"You can't talk to nii-san that way!" a very worried Karin whispered back, trying her best to restraint the blonde girl right now. "Please you don't understand-"

"You right," the blonde girl growled back. "I don't understand."

"Hina...I think it's best if you leave right now..." Naruto answered back, his brow wet with prespiration. There's a reason why Naruto was a bit of a misogynist and it was because despite the numerous time he had friendzone countless amounts of potential suitors, they wouldn't stop chasing. Women are scary creatures sometimes, more so than men and when they saw he was still available, they wouldn't stop giving chase until he was theirs. In this case, Temari was the ideal example of one of them. Even timid little Hinata was no exception to this rule but just what was it about Naruto's character that turned him into a lady's men is something that you'll have to ponder alone, I'm afraid. Not everyone has the answers and even Naruto alone spent countless sleepless nights wondering just what was it about him that females found so irresitible.

"Uh-uh" the bluenette answered back stubbornly, shaking her head. Retightening her hold on the blonde, she answered back firmly, "I-I am n-not leaving y-you..."

"Hina...please," he begged. Temari looked like she was about to explode any minute now and he didn't want the bluenette to be near her when she did explode.

It would be all too easy to give in, the bluenette thought but being so close with him right then, as well as the fact that they had been caught while sharing such a close moment together made her consider otherwise. Things had already turned sour because of the blonde girl's interupttion and in Hinata's mind, what else could possibly go wrong? Besides, that creature in her chest had started acting up again and seeing a potential suitor chasing after Naruto had spurred the creature once more into action. Strengthening her resolve, she reach down and grab her fiance's hand before flashing both wedding rings towards Temari. Then in a rather cold tone, she called out, "Y-y-you asked wh-who I am...I'm Hyuuga H-hinata. Na-naruto-san's f-fiance..."

Nice! Karin silently cheered as Temari's knees wobbled at the sudden revelation. What are you going to do now?

"I...think...I...n-need a b-breather..." she managed to voice out before vanishing from the room altogether. Sighs of relief could be heard almost immediately following her departure and Gaara chose that moment to make his re-appearance. There was, however, a new smile plastered on his face that wasn't there before.

"I apologise for that Gaara..." Naruto addressed, to which Gaara merely smirked.

"Think nothing of it," he dismissed. "I'll be taking my leave now if you don't mind and once more, thank you for your time, Naruto-san."

"Glad that's sorted," the blonde muttered once Gaara was gone before turning his attention towards Karin, who was trying her best to escape his attention. "And where do you think you're going, my self proclaimed secretary, hmm?"

"Er...escorting those two out?"

"Oh, I have a much better idea, _miss secretary_..." the blonde mocked back, an evil smile on his face.

Hina-chan! Help! Karin silently signalled but her cousin had anticpated as much. Turning his desk chair around, he had managed to prevent his bluenette from seeing his cousin's desperate plea for help. Also, while the bluenette's mind had caught a small glimpse of it, he silenced it swiftly by placing a small kiss on her forehead, disrupting that particular thought of hers as embarassment clouded her mind once more.

NOT this time Karin, he thought grimly before whispering a few more lines towards the still flustered Hinata. "I like kissing you, you know that, Hina-chan?"

"H-hentai..." she murmured back, hiding her face in his chest.

Better the pervert you know than the one you don't, was his only thought back. Then, knowing that the bluenette would be too embarass to argue otherwise, he proceeded to called out in a much louder voice, "And don't even think of escaping Karin. I know where you live..."

Checkmate nii-san, was the only line that Karin could think.

_With the Sand siblings,_

Presently both youths were making their way back to the hotel. Their mission now done, they had as much time to themselves to do whatever they want before the flight back home. Gaara welcome this, seeing as it had indeed been a very trying trip altogether with so much arrangements to be planned once they got home but there would be time enough for that, later. Temari, to say the least, would loathe this free time as it would be spent on hours and hours of pyschological analysis on how she felt about Naruto and the fact that he was now 'taken'.

"What does she have that I don't?" she grumbled miserably. "She looks so...normal!"

A soothing face and a complementing body for a start, Gaara thought warily but he wasn't about to tell her that. If anything, his sister's poor ego must have been horribly bruised that day. Temari might be right in that regard but to someone as observant as Gaara, the red haired knew just why his blonde friend had actually found the Hyuuga girl attractive. Hina was one of those girls, who while never bothering to apply make-up and who loves to cover themselves up very conservatively, held a natural beauty that far outshone anything a simple eye-liner or lipstick could help perk up. Such girls would never be considered pretty on a first impression basis and Naruto himself was not infatuated with Hinata in their first meeting together. That said however, should a person spent more time with such a girl, then he'll eventually began picking up on the more hidden facets of her features and the more you look at her and the more time you spent with her, then the deeper you'll fall for her without even realising it . This was because gems like her held not only hidden physical beauty but inner and soul healing ones as well. No doubt her tender and kind personality towards Naruto was slowly relieving him of the solitary burden that came along with being a coorporation head. That said however, Karin did manage to break that mold partially when she dressed her up the night before and no doubt that image must have stuck itself in the blonde's mind.

But I digress, back to the siblings...

"And what's wrong with normal?" Gaara asked back casually, ticking off items in his checklist as their driver opened the door to their vehicle.

"I don't know! I mean...honestly speaking Gaara, who do you think is more attractive. Me or that pale looking witch?" she asked back.

I SO don't want to have this conversation, Gaara thought back but decided to play along. "Now, nee-sama. You might not see Hinata-san as drop-dead gorgeous but bear in mind that this is Naruto's choice, so please respect it."

"Answer the damn question!"

"Okay okay," he hesitated. "Well...honestly speaking...you do look look better than her."

"See! So why-"

"I'm not finished," Gaara interuptted. "You might be better looking but that's my point of view. Naruto-san might think otherwise. Afterall, what does beauty mean to love? Love **IS** blind, afterall."

"And I suppose you fancy Karin-san because of her amazing personality, hmm?" his sister taunted back.

"At least she gets the job done, unlike a certain someone I know," he challenged back, before hoping in, with a scowling Temari following suit, effectively ending the ceonversation.

_With the two Uzumakis after Hinata has left..._

"You can't do this to me!" Karin yelled when Naruto declared that he was personally taking a day off that afternoon...as well as informing his assisstant, Shikamaru to chain the red haired to his desk until she finished sorting out all of his paperwork. "I'm not some damn secreatary!"

"Hmm, Hina-chan informs me that you've labelled yourself as such," he mocked back, as he quietly packed up his things. "Since you're so adamant in informing my fiance as such, I'm going to take you up on that offer.

"And you told her you were a Goddamn office boy!" she challenged back.

"Which was well within my rights Karin," he brushed her off casually, before looking at the clock. It was nearly four now and he would have to inform Mito to cancel that accursed clan meeting with the rest of the extended family members. "Better start working Karin, looks like you'll be having a long night."

"I'm not doing it and you can't make me," she stamped her foot. It was childish she knew but there was no way she was going to sort through hundred of stacks of paper just because he wanted to punish her for it.

"And why, pray tell, should I consider your request?" Naruto asked.

"I think you're forgetting something nii-san," she threatened back. "I'm a representative of the Board of Directors and a special advisor to the Clan elders. Everything I do holds weight and my position is not something you can just order me in!

"And I'm CEO of the coorporation and clan heir," he answered back. "Which pretty much overrides whatever power you hold, Karin."

"You're only CEO because the board, whom I'm a member of, decides so and your only clan heir because I gave up the position!" Both Uzumakis were glaring dangerously now but a small smile lit up Naruto's face which made Karin regret her outburst almost instantly.

"Need I remind you that it was I who made you a member of the board itself?" he exclaimed, causing her to shrink down in fear. "Besides, you gave up the position of clan heir despite being more eligible for the position than I am because you couldn't bear the responsibilities that came with the title."

"I'm telling Minato about this!" she growled back.

"Oh, you're more than welcome to Karin," Naruto answered back dangerously. "But do bear in mind that Tou-sama has not received any of my calls ever since my mother passed away a year ago. If I couldn't contact him...what makes you think you will?"

"I'll get you back for this, Naruto!" she hissed back.

"I doubt it," he smiled now that Karin seemed like she was finally admiting defeat. "Afterall, I was the one who taught you everything you know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to sort this whole mess with baa-chan up and I expect everything to be done by the time tomorrow morning is up, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, **nii-sama**," the red haired growled back. You win this round, she thought but when the war is done, I'll make sure that there'll be no form of retaliation from you! Mark my words, nii-san!

"Ah yes, before I forget. Shikamaru, did you managed to find Karin the assisstant she so deserves?"

"Hai, Uzumaki-sama," the Nara replied, opening the door to reveal a very pale man with very white hair. "Karin-sama, this is Toneri. He'll be your assisstant from today onwards."

"It's an honour to be working with such a beautiful young lady," the assisstant greeted lustfully, once the two boys were gone. "I hope-"

"First of all, don't you dare talk to me in such a manner," the red haired answered back. If this was her punishment, Naruto had taken things too far. "Secondly, you're fired. Now please leave before I call security."

"But-"

"GET OUT! NOW!" The red haired was not in the mood to argue with and Toneri, wisely decided to do so. Being with a beautiful girl alone in a room was one thing but even he had a limit. "Now that that's taken care of, I better start getting on with these damn paperwork. Hello...what's this? Uzumaki clan meeting...of course the meeting tonight! That's what nii-san was talking about...heh heh..."

It seemed that Karin was going to have her revenge afterall and best of all, she got to avoid doing all the work anyway. Quick as a finger snap, she speed dailed the bluenette's number before hearing her voice called out, "H-hello?"

"Hina-chan, sorry to bother you but are you free tonight?" she asked sweetly.

"H-huh?"

"Oh it's just that baa-chan wanted to meet you in person. And nii-san so dreadfully refused. I'm think he's ashamed of introducing you to grandmother," the red haired elaborated, adding just a tiny hint of symphathy towards it.

"Wh-why?" Hinata asked back innocently. "Am I-I n-not goo-?"

"Heavens no, Hina-chan. Its just that I'm afraid they'll be many ladies attending the party that baa-chan set-up and I think nii-san is afraid that you might feel intimidated by them," she continued. "They're all from prestigious background and promising careers, you know?"

"Wh-what?!" she squeked back in surprise.

"Don't worry a bit Hina-chan," she assured. "Baa-chan asked me to help you out in this but it'll indeed be up to you on whether you'll be able to receive the clan's approval or not."

She left just a small amount of silence for the words to sink in before continuing on, "Or you could decline. Nii-san is trying his best not to get you into any sort of." trouble."

And that was the last push that tipped the naive little Hyuuga girl over the edge. "I c-can't let N-naruto-san t-take th-the blame for m-me!" she argued weakly. "O-okay, I'll go..."

"Perfect," the little vixen purred. "I'll be right over your place in a bit. Don't worry Hina-chan, I promise you'll be the most stunning lady in the vicinity or my name is Uzumaki Karin!"

With that she snap her phone shut before pushing the entire sack of paperwork onto the floor. Good luck cleaning that up nii-san, she thought happily, as she made her way towards the door. No doubt when her cousin found out just what she had just done, he would be fuming mad but what good would it do? Mito would be on her side and she was the chairwoman behind the coorporation and the current Uzumaki matriach, a position that far superseeded Naruto's. On the bright side, Karin thought once more. I am doing it for Hina-chan's sake...well most of it anyway [yeah right-lols]...

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><p>Chapter end<p>

What happens next at the Uzumaki little get together?! What about Minato's current predicament? And a surprise guest?! Find out next chapter!

As usual don't forget to review and comment guys!


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and yay for more chapters! I spent an hour or so editing a bit of chapter two and six. To be honest, I wasn't thinking of going along this route but the benefits that came along with the consequences were much better-especially if you love FLUFF. So expect that in the very near future. That said, I must apologise for causing a few inconsistencies because of my minor editing. In all regards, everything else stays the same, except chapter two and six, with me switching the characters of Sakura, Ino, Matsuri and Temari. Hopefully that won't be too much of a hassle.

I apolgise if this might seemed a bit like bashing but please believe me when I say that I'm really not doing so. It's just that I need antagoists in my chapters and the two of them were the ideal candidates. That said, if you do hate what I've done to their characters, I might find a way to redeem them in the future.

Anyway, not much else I'm afraid-so ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

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><p><span><em><strong>Please read this: I have drastically altered Ino and Sakura's personality to be horrible horrible people. Similarly, I have replace Temari as Gaara's sister in chapter 6. Also, Matsuri has replace Temari's place in chapter 2. She will also now play a much different [but much more IMPORTANT] role now in the current storyline. <strong>_

_**Beforewarn: This chapter also has a lot of HORRIBLE things done to poor Hinata and you might not like them! **_

Chapter 7: Unexpected Development?! [A.K.A Trolling the readers]

_With Hinata, just after she got back to work,_

Her conversation with Karin done, our heroine snap shuts her phone before allowing herself a moment to mentally process everything that the red haired girl had told her. As if the entire day hadn't been torture enough, she now had to meet a group of people whom she had never ever met before. Why has my life gotten so complicated? she thought softly, as she quailed slightly at the intense number of glares she got from her collegaues. No doubt, some of them, or rather, ALL of them, were holding her responsible for the blonde's actions the day before. At the very least, she thought, she had made up with her dear Naruto and they were now finally able to start a proper relationship together. However, that aside, the day had been absolutely rotten; from the very moment since she had enter the office, everyone had turned to give her cold stares before angrily rebuffing each of her questions with cold shoulders and body shrugs. One of them even called her a ***** because of the way their manager seemed to favour her yesterday, implying that she had done despicable things.

**[YES, I am implying _that_ in this context but please don't elaborate it in the comments; this is rated K+ and the story might be spammed or worse...]**

Anyone else would have broken down and left and indeed, sweet innocent Hinata was more than broken by the entire ordeal. It was only the thought of meeting Naruto later on that gave her the courage to shoulder through the miserable morning and the encounter, along with the intimate moment she shared with him later on that empowered her to see the day through. Even now, the sweet memory of feeling her beloved's lips left her with a slight smile, despite the tense and thick atmosphere about her. If only Karin hadn't inform her that the rest of Narutos' family members wanted to meet her and being the introvert that she was, such a thought scared her to no end as she hurriendly typed away at her monitor screen in an effort to while away the feeling.

"Hina-san," a deceptively kind voice called out from behind her. Slowly, the bluenette turned away from the monitor screen before facing the owner of the voice, who turned out to be none other than Sakura. Said pink haired girl was currently holding a stack of papers and her heart fell when she caught side of it.

"H-hai? C-can I help y-you?" she asked, although she already knew the qeustion to that particular answer.

"I'm having trouble sorting through some of these, do you think you can take over for me?" she smiled, still using that kind tone. When the bluenette shook her head however, Sakura's face frowned and she answered back in a totally different voice altogether, "What do you mean 'no'?!"

"E-exactly w-wh-what I-I-I m-m-mean," Hinata chattered back. "N-n-naruto-kun s-s-s-said th-th-"

"Oh, so your little office boy decides to come over to save his darling princess and now you've got the guts to stand up to me now?" she snarled back. "Do I need to remind you that it's because of him that we've all spent an entire night sorting through your damn fiance's mess?!"

"Eep!" she squeaked back. Never had Sakura ever taken this tone before but now that she had, Hinata found herself facing off against a wolf in sheeps clothing. The pink haired girl had always seemed so mellow but now that she was revealing her true colours, the fact couldn't be further from the truth. She was a monster and right now, she was going to pay back the humilaition that this office boy Naruto had inflicted upon her and the rest of the office. A vengeful act made all the more sweeter by the fact that it would be someone close to him who had to bear the pain.

"B-b-but-" Hinata tried to argue back, as each of her co-workers began gathering around her now, mirroring the Haruno's actions. They would not have done this if Neji was around but now that he wasn't, they weren't restraint by their fears or doubt and hence had wasted no time in exacting their punishment upon the bluenette. In their eyes, this newcomer needed to learn her placeand that place was begging at their every beck and call, heeding whatever command that they see fit without arguing back. This might seemed cruel to you but bear in mind that when people learn to exploit others, they rarely ever want to let go of that exploitation. Power was a very dangerous thing, it was akin to a drug and like all drugs, it was best to stay away from it altogether. Currently their power over the bluenette was being challenged by the blonde the day before and if they didn't do anything now, then that power would be gone. And like every scumbag politician, having that power taken away from them was anathema. They were now going to show just what will happen to her if she even so much as _think_ of rebelling back.

"What are you going to do?" Ino taunted as she appeared next to the pink hair girl. "Are you going to call the manager for help, hmm?"

"Too bad he's not around," Tsubaki, a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties chipped in. "Its because of that damn boyfriend of yours that caused us to be in this predicament in the first place! So you're going to have to make it right!"

"Yeah, or do you want us to start spreading rumours about how close the manager seems to be with you?" Ibara, another worker interuptted. Hinata's eyes widened at that. She could bear people whispering false rumours about her or even being ill treated by her colleagues but it wouldn't be fair to her cousin if he got into trouble because of her. With a heavy heart, she accepted her fate.

"I'll d-do it..." she answered back sadly, a single tear running down her cheek as she said so. Only one person in the entire crowd reacted with remorse at the scene before her and that was Matsuri. Everyone else didn't care, the bluenette had deserved it afterall; they were cranky, tired and very angry at having to spent an entire night at work. "J-j-just p-p-ple-ea-ase d-d-don't i-involve N-n-neji-san..."

"So long as you listen to our demands Hina-chan," Sakura replied, delighted now that she was begining to listen to them. Also, while the pink hair youth had indeed promised so, she was definitely not going to keep it. Their manager was as much to blame as the blunette and her damn fiance and what better way to punish their superior by spreading horrible rumours that would otherwise tarnish her reputation? Oh, but what if he found out? NOT going to happen. Neji might indeed get ticked off but who in the office was going to snitch for him when it was EVERYONE else's plan in the first plan? Similarly, he can't just go and fired each and everyone of them. No doubt the media would be all too happy to soak up such a particular news...

"Good," another co-worker said, as he threw a stack of papers towards her. "Finish this before the manager gets back."

"Ours too," everyone else muttered as they all threw stacks of paper towards her before walking away, smug looks on their faces now. They had got what they wanted and vengeance was indeed sweet. Hinata silently sobbed to herself, her cries no lounder than stiffled sniffs as she bent down to pick each of the paperwork that her colleagues had so literally thrown at her. Just as she had gotten down to the floor however, Ino decided on one last punishment; kicking her chair which resulted in it landing onto her back. Very very very hard.

"My apologies, Hina-san," she smirked, as the bluenette gave off a pained cry. "See, at least I can say sorry, unlike you!"

Screw it, screw it all! a blonde girl on the far side of the room thought as she saw the miserable state he bluenette was in. I don't care if I'm going to ostracize anymore but I'll be damned if I let this injustice continue on for another damn minute! With that in mind, Matsuri wasted no time in crossing the room before helping the poor blunette up and lending her a shoulder to lean on. As everyone turned to stare angrily at the sight of the blonde helping the bluenette, Matsuri returned each and everyone of their glares with an intense one of her own.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tsubaki asked, when Matsuri held on to Hinata, the bluenette's own face mirroring her shock and bewildement.

"What I should have done a long time ago!" she snarled back. "How can each of you just sit there and let Hina-san be bullied like this?! Who do you think you are?!"

"She deserves it after what happened yesterday," Ibara countered back. "And it seems that she's managed to find a new friend in all of this. Well good for you, Hina-san. You know what they say, stupid birds flock together."

"I rather be an honest idiot than a sly hypocrite," she answered back and earning the full wrath of both Ibara and Sakura. As she turned away, half-carrying the bluenette towads the stairs, both Ibara and Sakura silently looked at each other before tip-toed towards her, each sporting a malicious gleam on her eyes. Unfortunately the blonde did not catch it but what she did not realise, Hinata did. Just before the two could push her, the bluenette exhibited a force of her own, saving her new friend but putting her own self at risk as the momentum from both harrasser's push sent her spiralling down the staircase. The next thing she knew was that she was being flung down twenty painful steps, accompanied by the sharp pain that followed and stopping with a loud crack. An immense pain followed after which unconsicouness finally took over.

"Hina-san!" Matsuri half-yelled, horrified at what the pink haired and the brunette had done. Silence permeated the entire office as the blonde rushed down towards the unconscious Hyuuga girl, no one daring to speak even a word after such a horrible accident. But Sakura kept her cool, it wouldn't do afterall if she were to freak out and lose it now. Everyone might have a vendetta against the bluenette but this was something both she and Ibara had done. No one would back the two of them up on this. Not even her best friend Ino unless...

"If anyone else asks, we blame it on Matsuri," the pink haired girl proclaimed, earning nods from everyone around. Mentally, she allowed herself a tiny smirk. It was all too easy, they were the sheep and she their sheperd. Funny how Matsuri's one act of kindness would be the one to land her a spot in the unemployment but that would teach her not to meddle in the affairs of others.

_With Karin,_

What's taking her so long? our red haired Uzumaki asked as she speed dialed the bluenette's phone once more. It was about half-past four now, the time when the bluenette agreed to meet up with her for the clan meeting but even after four consecutive calls, she had still not picked up her phone. When the phone call was finally answered however, Karin found to her surprise, not Hinata's voice answering her but someone else entirely.

"Hello? Hina-chan, is that you?" Karin asked

"H-h-help..." a small voice whimpered back in return.

Okay, something is definitely not right, Karin thought immediately. "Who are you and where is Hyuuga Hinata?"

"It w-was m-my fa-fault...my f-fault..." the voice continued in that choking tone. "Please y-you h-have to b-b-believe me..."

"What are you-" Karin began but was stoppedn almost immediately by a loud wail from the opposite end.

"Hina-san, Hina-san...Hina-san is d-d-d-ead!" the voice wailed. All too soon, the Uzumaki's eyes widened in shock at her words. Adrenaline overtaking her body now, she made a mad dash for the Hyuuga building.

"Calm down!" Karin ordered as she sprinted up the stairs. "What happen-oh my God..."

She barely felt it when her phone dropped as she took in the sight before her. Right there, just at the start of the first floor's stairline, was the bluenette's battered body. There were numerous cuts and bruises lining her face but that wasn't the sight that forced Karin to clutched her heart in despair, it was the blood. There was a huge pool of blood where Hinata body currently laid, along with a blonde girl who was crying her eyes out, her right hand gripping the bluenette's phone as if it were her lifeline towards the Hyuuga girl. Years of first aid training spurred her into action as she roughly brushed Matsuri aside before placing two fingers at the bluenette's neck. There was a pulse but only just.

"Get a grip!" Karin yelled at the still somewhat terrified blonde. "If you're her friend, you'll do something to help her instead of spacing out like that!"

"I-I..." Matsuri stammered back, before receiving a sharp shake from the red haired girl and when that didn't work, a slap to the face.

"Listen!" Karin hissed. "We can still save her! But I'm going to need your help! I want you to call the ambulance! Hurry!"

"O-okay," she answered back as she quickly turn her attention back towards the phone before dialing 911. Karin, on the other hand, immediately tore off a piece of her fabric before wrapping it gently around the bluenette's head. It would be too devastating to move her now in her current position without proper medical aid but at the very least she could try and stop the blood flow.

Don't you dare leave us, Hina-chan! Karin thought as she worked away, checking her pulse once more before moving on to her chest. Her breathing was slowing down now. It was suicidal to even attempt CPR in her condition but if she didn't do it, then Hinata would suffocate. Don't you dare leave us! Karin thought once more as she got into the CPR position. You have to live! For me, for nii-san but most of all, for yourself! Think of how much pain you would put nii-san through! Think of how much pain you would put ME through! YOU CAN'T LEAVE US, I WON'T LET YOU!

_With Mito, Naruto and the rest of the Uzumaki members..._

"What are you saying, Naruto?!" Mito scolded as her grandson informed her that his fiance wouldn't be joining them that very night. "I don't care what it is that you have to complain about but you are not calling this meeting off when I went to such troubles to gether everyone here!"

"And I'm telling you that I'm not following your little scheme," he snarled back. "You didn't even bother to tell me until this morning!"

"How dare you take that tone with me, young man!" Mito growled back angrily. "I don't care what reason you have but we are not leaving until you bring that Hyuuga girl right here, right now!"

"And who's going to make me baa-chan?" he challenged back, earning sighs and sweatdrops from the rest of the Uzumaki clan members all around.

"Why are we going through this?" Hanako asked [brownie point if you catch my reference!] "Can't we just leave Uncle Nagato?"

"Now now Hanako," Nagato admonished back. "Remember Mito-sama is still our matriach and we have to listen to her. Besides, I'm sure you find Hina-chan to be quite a nice person."

"Hmph," the seventeen year old girl replied. "I don't need friends. All they do is disappoint."

Now with that attitude of yours, you won't, Nagato thought wryly. But just where in the world is Karin? She should have been here ages ago. His trail of thought was interuptted when a very distraught Shikamaru suddenly burst in, his face as pale as a sheet. As everyone turned to stare at the Nara, Shikamaru wasted no time in rushing towards Naruto's side before whispering something inaudible words into his ears. What happened next shocked everyone as the visibly shaken blonde heir immediately fell down, his own face mirroring that of the Nara.

"Naruto!" Mito exclaimed, her teasing and stubborn nature now gone as she saw how distress her grandson was.

"Grandmother...forgive me but I must...leave you right now..." he barely whispered before rushing out of the door. As Shikamaru rushed to follow after him, Mito reached out an thin arm before holding his shirt back in an iron tight grip. As the Nara turned around, he knew then that there was no way he was going to be able to escape the onslaught of questions.

"There's been an accident...involving Hinata-sama," he answered back warily, wincing as everyone turned to yell out in anger.

"What are you standing there for then! Hurry up! Get the car ready!" Mito snapped.

I really don't get paid enough for this, the Nara thought but like the three Uzumakis, Shikamaru himself was rather fond of the bluenette at the way she had treated him that morning and just this once, he was going to follow orders thoroughly.

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><p>Chapter end!<p>

I apologise if you wanted a massive scale meeting with the clan members but I had this idea at the very last minute and it was too good to pass up.

And now the dreaded question on everyone's mind-DO I MAKE HINA LIVE OR DIE?! MUWAHAHAHAHA!

On a more serious note: Fluffiness starts next chapter, make sure you're not allergic to cuteness overload. Beforewarn, there will be alot of sappy romance and sweetness.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**Author's** **note:** Hi again guys and yay for more chapters. Sorry if I'm not too ethusiatic today...I was suppose to be working on my Moonlight Kingdom but words just can't seemed to flow right now T.T I've really tred but can't seem to be thinking up on a good plot for it just then. Anyway, because of that I've decided to work on this side series for just a bit. Bear in mind, this might be the last chapter for quite a while until I get my main story back on track. Sorry for that.

To **BentShuriken**: Well, I wasn't actually planning on anything but now that you've mention it and because I am a bit of a sadist...I've decided to follow your prohibition. Hehe...it really amuses a writer when the readers ask them not to do something and they do it anyways! That said, I've tweaked a bit on your idea and I'm sure you'll **LOVE** it instead of hate it [trust me on this!]

Anway, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

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><p>Chapter 8: Aftermath...<p>

_At Konoha's hospital ward with Karin and Matsuri..._

"What do you mean she might not make it!" the red haired Uzumaki demanded as the doctor in charge avoided eye contact with her. It was time like this that Shizune hated her job. There were times when people looked up to doctors because of the death-defying miracles that they always managed to pull off at the last second. And then...they were times like this when, no matter how painful it was, the doctor could do nothing but offer bad news. This was one of those times...

"I'm sorry," the brunette in her early twenties muttered, as she glanced at the Hyuuga girl sleeping in front of her. For all intents and purposes, Hinata seemed to be sleeping away peacefully. She looked so peaceful, serene and calm in her hospital white gown and anyone else would have believed as such. Well, if we were to ignore the fact that she was strapped to a life support machine and a ventillator attached to her face right now. "There's a seventy five percent chance that she won't make it. I'm sorry Uzumaki-sama..."

"You can't give up!" Matsuri protested, as she saw how distress her red haired companion looked. "There's must be something you can do!"

"There is one thing..." Shizune answered back. It was a horrible thing to even consider this, especially seeing how young and innocent the bluenette girl looked. She had her whole life right in front of her but trust me when I say that Shizune was indeed doing this for the bluenette's sake. "I don't have the permission for this...but you could end her suffering right here, right now..."

"What are you-" Matsuri asked, when Karin suddenly lost it.

"**WE ARE NOT PULLING THE DAMN PLUG**!" she yelled, tears now streaming through her face. She might not have known the Hyuuga girl for very long...heck three days would even be considered a good amount of time to call Hinata her friend but the bluenette had proven her worth in her eyes. She had earned her right to live and denying that right after everything she had been through would be pure EVIL. A testament that Hinata's colleague seemed to agreed to seeing as she had furiously crossed her arm at Shizune's offer.

"I understand how you feel," the brunette replied, her head facing away from the two angry girls now. "But even, by some miracle, she did survive, Hinata-san...she...she would be paralysed waist down and there's...there's just no telling if she'll ever be able to walk again. She also sustained serious head injuries and even now, her vital signs are...are..."

She couldn't bear to finish her sentence but it wasn't like she needed to since the implications of her words were not lost on the two. Not for the first time, Shizune wished that there was more she could do but she wasn't her mentor and she wished with all her might that the one person who might even have the faintest amount of hope of saving the poor bluenette right now was here. Unfortunately, Tsunade, world renown surgeon, was away on a educational trip and there was no telling when she'll be able to come back. She had done all she could, but even with her best skills, the most she could have done was stabilise the bluenette's rapidly deteriorating condition and there was no telling how long it would last. A fact made far worse that a relapse could happen at any time, reinforced by the slow beeping signal of the heart monitor Hinata was currently strapped to.

"YOU BLEEDING DOCTORS ARE ALL THE SAME!" Karin screamed, no longer restraint by her emotions. "YOU SAY YOU SAVE LIVES BUT THE WAY I SEE IT, YOU'RE ALL CHARLATANS! THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU!"

"Ka-karin-san, stop!" Matsuri yelled horrified when the red haired, finally cracking under Shizune's words, lost it and slapped the doctor hard across her face. Shizune knew it was coming, and she knew she could have defended herself but she didn't. It was because she understood how Karin herself felt and how powerful she currently was that she allowed the blow to land. Deep down, she also knew that the Uzumaki girl was not a bad person at heart but she was just very miserable and very depressed. A feeling, most people would easy sympthatise with of course, having been in that situation themselves. Just as Karin was about to deliver another slap however, a firm grip on her arm stopped her, followed closely by the unmistakable tone of her cousin.

"Karin, that's enough!" Naruto commanded. In all the commotion, all three of them were unaware that along with Naruto, a whole host of red haired people had managed to locate the hospital room they were in and had wasted no time in allowing themselves in. Although, only Mito and Naruto had actually stepped into the immediate vicinity, seeing as the rest of the Uzumaki clan members were far too reserve to enter the bluenette's room without Mito's say-so. "It's not the doctor's fault that Hina-chan's in this situation!"

"N-nii-san?" Karin cried, before finally releasing her guilt and crying softly onto her cousin's chest.

"It's okay," he hushed, cradling her in his arms, his own face a pale white and his eyes evident of the amount of sobbing he had allowed himself before reaching the hospital. "We...we need t-to be strong...for Hina...Hina-chan's sake..."

"You shame the clan, Karin," Mito scolded, as she too took a position before her two granchildren. "I did not raise you in your parent's steed to be so weak-willed. Show me the strength and courage that you've shown me countless of times before!"

"H-hai...grandmother," Karin answered back, freeing herself from Naruto's grip before drying her tears. When she was done, her face now held a new look of stubborn determination and undefeatable hope. "I've taken care of matters, baa-chan. _She_ should be here momentarily."

"That's the Karin I know," Mito exclaimed, reaching out and pulling her granddaughter into a fierce hug. "All we can do now...is wait."

"Baa-chan?" Naruto asked, shocking both Uzumakis greatly by his term. He had not called his grandmother so affectionately before, not with such a familiar tone in such a long time. "Can I...can I have a m-moment with Hina-chan?"

"Do what you must Naruto," Mito answered back, before ordering everyone out of the room. The sharp clink of the door closing behind them and Naruto finally found himself alone with the bluenette. A million emotions ran through the blonde right now but the most prominent, and the one that stood out most of all was anger and injustice. They had only just made up that very day and when things were finally beginning to look bright, this had to happen. One other thing permeated his mind though, one emotion that forged itself into a thick iron clad bar with a single word stamped onto it; _vengeance_. Once he had settle things with the bluenette, he would make sure that whoever did this to Hinata would pay and they would pay with wretched lives.

"Hina..." he choked as he took in the sight of her weakened and injured body. Slowly, he reached out an arm to caress her cheek gently, his heart a whirlwind of emotions. "Why...why do you make suffer like this?!"

For the first time since they started their relationship together, Naruto asked himself one simple thing. Just one thing, "Why do I care so much for her?" The answer, almost hit him back as quickly as it had appeared. It might have been three simple days and they might have been lumped together by their families but he didn't love her. No; he _had fallen in love_ with her. Her soft smile, her kind nature, her jealous tendecies and perhaps most of all, her ability to make his heart flutter whenever she was around him. It was bittersweet moment in Naruto's eyes, just when he had finally admitted his feelings for the bluenette, fate had decided to play a cruel trick on him and was going to take her away from him. Forever. The blonde had never understand true love before, nor had he ever face true horror and despair but the concept of having to live a life without her? That was worst than any other thing altogether.

His legs buckling now, he lowered himself beside her bedside before giving in to the anguish hidden in his heart. There was no one to see him now but that aisde, he didn't care. He had treated her so badly the past few days and though it wasn't his fault, guilt overtook his heart and buried himself deep into the deepest corners of his soul as he considered the idea of spending a life without her. His sobs were unshackled now and only grew worse when he reached out to grip her icy cold palm. For all intents and purposes, Hinata did not seem likely to survive.

"I love you, hime," he whispered, squeezing her hand this time round. "If you love me back, don't leave me! Please...I...I...I don't want to live without you..."

A slight stirring occured next to him but he was too lost to even feel it. It was only when he felt the faint squeeze on his palm back that he looked back at the slumbering figure of the girl he now loved. Hinata's eyes were opened but there were so weak, as if her life was about to be blown apart like a candle. But that was enough for the blonde, She was awake and she seemed to be recovering. As a surge of hope raced through his body, he got up to leave but his bluenette, squeeze onto his palm once more. It was so faint however that he thought, at first, that he had imagine it.

"I -d-don't...m-much time, N-a..." she whispered through her ventilator. "I''m s...our ro...ended b...it began..."

"Hina, don't talk!" the blonde replied. "Don't even think about death! You can't die!"

"I too t...Na..." she whispered once more, stuggling against the fatigue. A single teard drop raced down her mind as she considered her life up until then. She had endure too much and wanted nothing more than to let everything go. Throughout her entire life, she had been taken advantage of by the people around her but now when she had finally found her soul mate, it seemed like she would be leaving him afterall. At the very least, she comforted herself, they had not make enough memories to warrant him falling in love with her. "T-take...of...yo...na...kun..."

The heart monitor flashed once more before going flat and the girl's eyes snapped shut once more. Horror flashed through Naruto's eyes at that. She had seemed so alive right then!

"Hina, I-I LOVE YOU!" he yelled this time round, not caring who heard him anymore. "I lied before but I really mean it now! Don't leave me! Don't...please...I beg you...d-don't *sob*..."

Just when all hope seemed lost, there door opened with a resounding bang and who should come in but the world-renown surgeon Tsunade herself. Seeing her nephew in such a demented case put the Senju girl in a rather foul mood but that a time for later discussion. Right now, there were far more important things to do. Pushing aside her still somewhat depressed nephew, Tsunade barked out in a commanding tone, "Team, get ready for the surgery! It'll be along one!"

"Glad you could make it in time Tsunade-sama," Karin exclaimed as she helped her cousin up from the floor.

"She'll...she'll b-be alright...?" the blonde asked, his face pale.

"I've never lost a case yet," Tsunade answered back grimly. "And I'm certainly not starting anytime soon. Leave the rest to me, Naruto."

"How?" was his last question as he saw the medical team wheeling Hinata off to the operating room.

"I called her immediately when we rushed Hinata off to the hospital, nii-san," Karin answered back. "We're lucky aunt was around in town and had just gotten back from her trip. Fate truly is on our side, this time."

"Get some rest, Naruto," Mito adviced as she too reached out an arm to help her grandson up. "Don't worry about Hinata-san. She's in good hands now. I even called for a little back up to help Tsunade."

"Thank you...but let me stay...I...I want to be there when H-hina-chan opens her eyes," he begged back.

"Nii-san, you can't!" Karin argued back. "You need your rest, Hina-"

"Would be most happy if the first thing she saw is her beloved's face," Mito finished for her. "It's best we leave him, Karin. Naruto, take as much time as you need from work. Hinata needs you more than we do right now."

"Thank you...baa-chan," he answered back hoarsely as he sat himself down on a bench outside the room. Now came the hardest part in the young blonde's life; waiting.

_With Tsunade,_

_[insert exciting surgery music here]_

"What's her condition?" the Senju asked her medical team as she got herself ready.

"There are multiple internal wounds and numerous broken bones throughout her body but worst of all is the fracture on her skull," Shizune answered her as she too mentally prepare herself for their toughest challenge yet. "There's interior bleeding in her brain as well, something that should otherwise be dealth with first, shisou."

This could be tricky, Tsunade thought. One wrong move and the girl was history but brain surgery was not an easy thing to do. Akin to rocket science, this feat was perhaps the hardest thing to do but Tsunade was no amateur when it came to saving people's life. She had stop in the very line of life and death itself many times and she brought back countless hundreds from beyond the grave. This, however, was no stranger, it was her beloved nephew's sweetheart and she was hardpressed into saving this particular girl.

"Her blood vessel's beginning to clot in her brain, Tsunade-sama," another assisstant yelled, as he glanced away at the sheet. "It'll be worse if we attempt to cut open her now."

"Shizune, get me the-" Tsunade began when the door to the ER opened and a new surgeon stepped in. At first, all the medical staff were annoyed by the intrusion but another look at him and everyone were stunned silent by his appearance. Here was someone who was just as famous as Tsunade and whose skills were equally, if not better matched against hers.

"You! What are you doing here?!" Tsunade growled.

"Dr Hazama!" Shizune exclaimed. She had heard of this controversial surgeon but never in her life would she imagine seeing two famous surgeons performing surgery at the same time. It, truly, was a sight to behold.

"You can blame that on Mito-sama," he answered back. "She's agreed to pay me ¥ 500,000,000 to assist you in this. Afterall, the clan's jeopardy is at stake."

"I don't need your help, _Kuro_," Tsunade muttered back. "You refused my offer many times but when money becomes the issue, you take up the offer?!"

"Hmph, if that is your wish," he shrugged, before making his way for the door when Shizune blocked him.

"Please, Tsunade-sama..." the brunette pleaded. "We need all the help we can get."

"Tsk," Tsunade hesitated, but finally relented. They really did need all the help they can get. "Fine, but you follow my instructions. Are we clear?"

"Just like medical school," Dr Hazama answered back. "Let's get started."

"Yes, it's high time we did."

_Sixteen hours later,_

"Tsunade-san!" Naruto asked as the blonde Senju stepped out of the operating room. "How was it? Will she live?"

"One at a time Naruto," Tsunade smiled tiredly. "Yes, she'll live. The operation was a success."

[**NOTE**: I actually did play around with the idea of** KILLING** Hinata off but...people would hate me otherwise and I hate tragedies myself-so, you win this time guys...]

"Thank you...thank you..." the blonde sighed. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off the blonde's chest the moment Tsunade proclaimed as such. "I can't thank you enough."

"Don't thank me just yet though," Tsunade exclaimed, her smile now gone. "There was a bit of complication during surgery, but I'm needed elsewhere. Shizune will explain the rest to you."

"What complication?" he asked, dreading the word, as Tsunade vanished.

"Hinata-san will be confined to a wheelchair for at least a few months, I'm afraid. But worse than that is that near the beginning of the surgery, Hinata-san's vital signs were too weak to perform on," Shizune explained. "So we used a stamina enhancing drug. One that has disastrous effects."

"Which is?!" he demanded. He didn't like the sound of that.

"You have to understand Naruto-kun, that we were doing our best," Shizune began once more. "But the drug has side effects...in the form of memory alteration."

"You mean...?" he asked once more, horrified by this sudden revelation.

"I don't know," Shizune continued. "The memory effects are very random. She might forget nothing or she might forget everything. There's nothing we can do now but wait. In the mean time, please get some rest, Naruto-kun. You look the worse for wear."

"I'll rest after I see her," he countered back, before following suit after the Senju. Shizune followed him, at the same time marvelling at just how much willpower and care he had for the bluenette. Amazing, she thought. I've never seen someone care for anyone else to this extent. For your sake, Naruto-kun, I hope she returns your feelings.

_With Karin,_

Back at the Uzumaki headquarters, our dear red haired was busy cursing her head off. By the time the morning was done, the poor Nara was the target and receiving end of every known form of obscenities that Karin knew, and had made up over the course of growing up. As another officer entered Naruto's office, carrying yet another stack of paperwok, Karin focused her bloodshot eyes towards her before uttering a very menacing like growl at her. The poor girl squeaked back in fright, before depositing the paperwork onto her desk and excusing herself out of the office immediately.

"How does nii-san do this?!" she snarled, signing off yet another piece. It seemed that with each form she completed, another would materialise, giving the impression of a never ending supply of paperwork. Her foul mood however, was further offset by the fact that she couldn't get angry at her nii-san because, well...he was not at fault here and his actions were justified in the form of caring for his dear fiance. Unfortunately, when the CEO of the business was absent, the responsibility was transfered towards the next person in line and she was that very same person. "Damn me for tossing off those pieces onto the floor yesterday!"

This is why you should think before you act, Shikamaru thought as he sidestepped himself away from the red haired girl's line of sight. Now, if only he could just blend in to the surrounding-

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* the telephone rang, causing Shikamaru to jumped, and to which Karin dangerously mutter, "Get the damn phone! I don't pay you to stand around there looking like some sort of statue!"

You don't pay me at all. Period, the Nara thought back. Naruto does. But he obediently did so, even though the phone was only a few inches away from Karin. As he answered the phone however, his mood immediately shifted to one of joy when it was Naruto at the other end of the line. Best of all was the fact that he was no longer his moppy, sad and depress counterpart the day before. As Karin heard her cousin's voice from across the other line, she immediately snatched the phone away from the assisstant before bombarding him with the very same question he had ask Tsunade that very same morning.

"It's best if you come by yourself, Karin," Naruto answered from across the line. "Hina-chan just woke up a few minutes ago and the doctors are giving her therapy right now."

"On my way, nii-san," she answered back, before slamming the phone. "Shika, get the car!"

"Already on it, Karin-sama," the Nara answered back as he left to get the preparations ready.

_Back with Naruto,_

"How is she, Tsunade?" Naruto asked eagerly, as the doctor came out of the room.

"She's...she's asking for you, Naruto," Tsunade hesitated. Like everything else, whenever there was good news, bad news was sure to follow. Just as the blonde was about to enter the room however, Tsunade reached out and grabbed his arm. "But she's in a rather delicate situation, Naruto."

"What do you mean?" he asked, horrified at the news.

"Apart from you, Karin, Matsuri and Shikamaru, Hinata remembers nothing at all about her past life," Tsunade answered back. "You are the _only thing anchoring her to reality_, Naruto. She doesn't even know her own name, who she is or where she came from."

"This can't be happening..."

"It's the effects of the drug I'm afraid," the Senju answered back. "Now, the effects could wear off in as short as two days or even as long as ten years. There's just no telling but I just want you to know that you now hold that girl's life in your hands. She doesn't know who to trust right now, _except you and you alone_. In fact, the first thing she did when she woke up was to mutter your name and it took all four of us to hold her down and explain the situation to her when she wanted nothing more than to jump out of bed and find you."

"I see..."

"No, you don't" Tsunade muttered back. "As far I know, this girl only came back because _you begged her to do so_. If I find her in critical condition because of what you just did or will do, then God be with you Naruto because you'll be my first case in which I will indeed, lose a patient."

The blonde met her even gaze with his own at her words. "You can count on that, Tsunade-sama," he hissed back. "I would never even think so much as leaving her until her memory returns. You can count on it!"

"Good that we're on equel footing," Tsunade replied, allowing the blonde a soft smile. "Now get in there, she's been asking for you ever since she woke up!"

But the blonde was already gone as he entered the room, Tsunade's words lost to the wind. The doctor sighed back, shaking her head in return. There had been a time when she loved someone as much as he did but that had been a long time ago. Still, that lost love was so strong that Tsunade never ever found anyone else to replace Dan and it was partially the reason why she became a doctor in the first place; so that no one would have to suffer as she did. Seeing how much their reunion was going to brighten their lives, made Tsunade happy that she had indeed chosen the right path. Theirs was a love that she had managed to salvage and that was bonus in her eyes. Without anymore interupttion, she made her way to the cafe, whistling merrily as she did so. A good cup of coffee was just what she needed after one of the hardest surgeries she had to go through. That, good food, and a nice long rest.

"I'm getting too old for this," she groaned.

_With Naruto,_

"Hina!" he called out ethusiastically as he entered the room, the door closing behind him as he did so. Contrast to how she looked prior to her surgery, she now looked much better; her eyes were once more full of life, her face still as pale as ever but the rosy tint had returned and lastly her gentle smile was back as she saw her beloved blonde visiting her. However, not everything was the same; Tsunade had strapped her right hand onto her bed side in order to prevent her from leaving especially considering that half of her body was covered in bandages. Similarly, her left eye had a cotton wool tapped over it but no matter how fragile she looked, the bluenette seemed to be bursting with energy.

"Na-naruto-kun!" she called out happily, before realising that she was still somewhat strapped to her bed. Sighing softly, she made an annoyed tug at the strap, only to be restrained as the blonde grip her right hand from doing so.

"You shouldn't be doing that," he cautioned gently but she only pouted back. That, more than anything else, shocked him. This Hinata, while looking the same and having the same personality behaved just a bit more differently than the one he had known prior to her operation. She was a tiny bit more rebellious and more opened about her emotions but the blonde found the new sensation rather pleasing than distressing. He had an inkling that the bluenette had developed a bit of a crush on him over the past few days, but knew that she wouldn't expressed herself as such because of her somewhat shy and restraint personality. Now, however, it would seemed to be a bit easier to readjust what she was feeling. "You called me, hime?"

"I j-just wanted t-to see y-you," she murmured back, reaching out with her left hand to carass his cheek. He flinched back at her touch but maintained his position. If anything, Tsunade was right. He owed it to the bluenette for begging her to come back from the land of the day just for his sake. This was the least he could do. It didn't feel any better though that he enjoyed her contact but for the moment he pushed the thought aside. His dear Hina-chan was alive, broken and wounded though she was, she was still alive. "I-I h-had tth-the strangest d-dream, Naruto-kun. Y-you said y-you loved me..."

"I..I d-did?" he choked. It was so tempting to tell her but seeing her in her present condition made him consider otherwise. As Tsunade had put it, her mental condition was very fragile right now. There was no telling what would happen if he admitted to his feelings right now; it could either make both of their day or, farfetched as it might seemed, put her back on a relapse. And no matter how tempting it seemed to Naruto to confess, there was just no way he was going to risk it, especially since she had just survived an accident, with her memory barely holding on. But there were certain situations that did not warrant words and Hinata herself could read the emotions the blonde was emitting. She believed that when Naruto had said those words, he had actually meant it and that it was no mere dream of hers. However, she didn't know why he was trying hard to keep silent about it. And so, she decided to play along with his idea instead.

"W-weird dream, h-huh?" she giggled softly, earing a painful heartache from the blonde in return.

God help me...I did not know...she could make such an...adorable face...he thought, looking away now, his own face a bright red blush. Never in the time when they were with each other had the bluenette ever made such a tender and heartwarming look but now that she had, Naruto found it even much harder to free himself from her gaze now. Her current appearance in a hospital gown, bathed in bandages nly made things worse as well. Whereas Naruto had found her to be rather dazzling before in the evening gown Karin had set her up in two days ago, he found her even more enticing now in that vulnerable and wounded position. This was probably due to the sudden, though slight shift, in her personality. The Hinata he knew, would never have brush off such a serious matter with a simple giggle.

"Naru-kun?" she asked, when he looked away from her. "Are y-you o-okay?"

Dear God, she wouldn't! he thought horrified, as the bluenette reached out both arms and place it on his face, before softly placing her forehead against his. It seemed fine to her, before she slowly bent down and place her ear next to his chest. His heartbeat, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit too high for her taste. Then again, he was probably tired from all the exertion she had caused him. Having decided so, she simply sighed out in relief before bravely hugging him back in turn, her face rubbing against his large chest.

"I m-must have h-hit myself too hard," she smiled happily. "I th-thought you were s-sick th-there, for a m-moment."

If only you knew how sick you make right now, he thought warily, his heart a beating machine by now. Like it or not, the blonde found this too impossible to believe. She had fell down a huge flight of stairs, completely lost her memories apart from her four friends and she didn't seemed to be affected by it? At all?! Instead, here she was, bolder than ever, and more open about her contact with the blonde. Usually it would be the other way round but somehow that accident seemed to have inverted their roles. As Naruto thought back to what Tsunade said however, he began to realise the meaning of her words. His Hina-chan had indeed forgotten everything up until she met him and if he literally meant the world to her right now, then there was no surprise as to her behaviour. She had everything she needed, or so she thought. The complications from her horrible past, mean colleagues and mean ex-boyfriend erased from her mind, Hina, was in all definition of the word, a child. Or rather, a child with all the coherent thought processes and unconscious experience that an adult her age would have, minus the reality of her teriible memories, that is. This was why she was unaffected as such. She had always craved for attention and Naruto had always given it to her. Somewhere in that brain of hers, she knew that he wouldn't reject her and after being completely ignored by anyone else, her mind was taking matters into its own hands in making up for twenty-two years of lost time. Or at least until her memories got back.

"Do you remember anything, hime?" he asked her cautiously. When she closed her eyes in concentration, he quickly cupped her face back. "You don't have tried so hard, Hina-chan. Your memories will come back to you in time, I promise."

"I know," she answered back. Suddenly, without even realising why it happened, tears began running down her face.

"Hina! Are you hurt?!" Naruto asked back. Everything seemed to be alright but then why was she suddenly crying right now?

"I f-fine, Naru-kun," she answered back, with a watery smile."I-i-its just th-that I feel a-as if I've forgotten something i-important, Naruto-kun. I-I don't e-even remember my n-name, my f-family...or why I st-started stuttering like this."

Better you don't ever find out the last, he thought fiercely. The bluenette had finally decided to entrust with him her secret of when she had actually started stuttering before and it was when her ex-boyfriend and fiance had left her a short while ago. When Naruto had first heard this, he had literally swore to rip the damn guy's head out for doing something so mean to someone as soft and gentle to Hinata. Fortunately for Sasuke, Hinata managed to dispel his anger with one short line, "If h-he didn't d-dump me, Na-naruto-kun...th-then I-I would n-n-never have m-met y-you." The blonde Uzumaki had left it at that but silently promised to find a way to get back at the raven haired Uchiha if he ever met him. As thoughts of her ex-boyfriend raced through his mind, a huge hole started forming in Naruto's heart. What if...he thought miserably. What if...that important something she had forgotten were her memories with Sasuke? He didn't like to think about it but it was definite possibility.

"N-naru-kun?" Hinata asked when she saw how sad her fiance suddenly looked. Reaching out her hand once more, she cupped his cheek before turning his head to face her. "I'm f-fine, Naru-kun. Y-you d-don't have to w-worry about me..."

"I know, hime..." he answered back sadly, without looking at her. "Get some rest, Hina-chan..."

"Uh-huh!" she stubbornly refused, tightening her hold on him. "N-not u-until you tell me w-why you're so sad..."

I can't do that, Hina-chan, Naruto thought. I know its petty and pitiful but I can't tell you that you used to have an ex-boyfriend whom you loved so much. Maybe...maybe even more than me...God, I'm despicable...

"N-naru-kun," she asked gently once more when Naruto still refused to give her an answer back. "I th-thought we were p-past all e-evasiveness, now? Tell me, I-I'm your g-going to b-be y-your w-wife anyway..."

"Well-" he began but never got to finish it as Hinata suddenly gave a sudden gasp before grasping her head in pain. "Hina!"

"I'm f-fine, Naru-kun," she winced once the pain was gone. Then a sudden grin split her face at what she was about to say next, "I-I just remember wh-what th-that important s-something is, Naru-kun!"

"R-really?" he craoked back. She had manged to remember Sasuke afterall...

"We-were ge-getting married!" she squealed happily, tightening her hold on the blonde and stunning him once more. This was her important something?! Well, it was better than having hear her confess her love towards her ex-fiance, that was for certain.

"H-hina," Naruto hesitated once more. "J-just...just how much do you actually remember...about us, I mean?"

"O-oh I re-remember everything, Naru-kun," she hummed happily. "I re-remember how we were f-forced into d-doing this, how y-you saved me from my m-mean co-workers and e-even our f-first date!"

"Really?" he asked back. Well, this was shocking. Of all the things she could have remembered to kept, she had chosen to preserve her memories of him. She must really love me, he thought, his heart breaking in the process. Well, on the plus side, at least this isn't some sappy Korean romance drama where the lead roll keeps getting amnesia and all...like how realistic would that be?!

[Insert Massive troll face. Yes I went there; what are you going to do about it?! Lol!]

"Hai!" she answered him back before pouting angrily once more. Oh oh..."I a-also r-remember y-you and K-karin-chan f-forcing me to r-run up th-that hill. Y-you were s-so mean, Naru-kun..."

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have done that... the blonde thought when another thought caught his attention. "Hina, aren't you...aren't you against this whole arranged marriage thing?"

"Huh? I was?" she asked, flashing yet another adorable face that caused Naruto's heart to swell once more. I don't think I can take much more of this...he thought. "I d-don't th-think s-so. I'm s-surprised I-I n-never said so b-before but I'm g-glad we're getting married, Na-naru-kun. I-I guess I m-must have been t-too embarass t-to tell y-you..."

"I see..." Naruto replied, his face a deep scarlet now.

His counterpart was not much different, seeing as she was blushing just as hard at her honest statement but as described earlier, the bluenette somehow knew that the blonde would return her feelings. She wouldn't have done this in her previous position but freed from that cautious side that her memory had so desperately enforced, she was now following whatever her emotions were telling her and right now, they were telling her that it was indeed alright to say this much to Naruto. That said however, Hinata was all too aware of her weak side, as the most vivid memory she currently had was that of the blonde kissing her and proclaiming that they start over their relationship. Although right now, she didn't know she was so afraid of admitting her feelings back then. Oh no! she thought, before quickly looking at her ring finger. Right as rain, there was a single imprint where the gold band usually was.

Naruto caught her doing so and true enough, her wedding ring was gone. "It's fine, hime," he told her. "I'll get you a new one."

"N-not it's not," she whined back. "Th-that was the o-only thing I've e-ever received from y-you..."

"Not a problem," he smirked, before leaning down a placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "I didn't actually get that for you. Karin did."

'Hmph," she answered back angrily, pushing aside his kiss rather abruptly.

Didn't know she had a cute angry side to her as well, Naruto thought back warily. This day has been too full of surprises. "I'll get you a new one, Hina-chan. I promise. And this time, I won't let someone else do the picking. So...forgive me?"

"O-okay," she answered back timidly, her face a deep red once more. It was one thing to get angry at him when he let someone else do something that he was supposed to be doing but totally a different thing when he actually promised to patch things up.

"So what kind of ring do you want?" he asked, cuddling her back once more in his embrace. "Name it, hime and it's yours."

"A-any ring's fine," she whispered back, snuggling herself in his arms. "Th-the cheaper the b-better."

"Hina-"

"I-I'm n-not done Naru-kun," she continued, placing a finger on his lips. "I d-don't want an e-expensive p-piece of stone s-stuck on s-some u-useless p-piece of m-metal. I w-want s-something that w-will al-always re-remind me of you, n-no matter where I a-am or wh-when I am."

"Hina..." Once more, the blonde was totally caught off course by how honest the bluenette really was. It astounded him to no end just how precious she was to him. He could have gone to Mars and back and not found anyone of his calibre but yet, here she was, an unpolished piece of the finest gemstone he could ever find, who was thrust upon him by, ironically, the last person whom Naruto would ever take orders from; his grandmother. I'm never letting you go now, hime, he thought, nuzzling her neck once more. "Okay, I'll do as you ask...can I kiss you now?"

"H-hentai..." she muttered back but allowed him to place one at her cheek.

"Only for you hime," he smirked. "Get some rest, hime. I've got some things to take care of."

"P-promise y-you'll c-come visit me a-again?" she pleaded, kissing him goodbye.

"Of course, hime," he answered back. A few seconds later he was gone and the bluenette was left to her own devices.

I should have told Naru-kun that his voice was the only thing that kept me alive, she thought. But's he gone now...I'll tell him next time...

* * *

><p>Chapter end<p>

That's it for now guys. This chapter was suppose to be slightly longer with Karin and Shikamaru arriving on the scene but I ran out of writing space. I don't like writing too much in one chapter because no doubt you guys will probably get bored. That said however, if you do want longer chapters just give me a shout.

Anyway, I'll be working on my Moonlight Kingdom properly this time, so don't expect any more chapters soon. Give it a week at best. Its the holidays and I really need to wrok on my main story before January starts.

As usual, please leave your thoughts in the comment before BUT NO FLAMES and please don't use swear words guys. . I want this to be family friendly. [Although I think I went just a bit too far with the hardcore stuff last chapter...]

See you next time!


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**Author's note:** Hi again guys and yay for more chapters! Hopefully you guys weren't too annoyed by the amount of waiting I made you guys endure. But I'm on track now that my Moonlight Kingdom is progressing once more. That said, I might have to re-edit the first few chapters. It was a bit too slow if we follow on with the present storyline. If you have any pointers to that, please do let me know guys. As usual, I am an amateur in this.

Anyway, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Don't mess with the little sister...<p>

_At the Hyuuga building,_

At present, we find our dear friend and current manager of Konoha's branch of the Hyuuga building in a dangerous situation. Well, perhaps dangerous was a tiny bit excessive but there just seems to be no otherway round it seeing as, not only him but Hiashi was seated next to him a prostrating position before the person in front of the desk.

"I want the people responsible for this whole commotion **DEAD**," the hidden character behind the office chair exclaimed calmly. "And YOU, HOW DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?! WAIT UNTIL MOM HEARS ABOUT THIS!"

Both men flinched when the chair rotated around to reveal none other than Hinata's eight year old sister, who by the way, scared Hiashi very much right at this moment. Never in a million years had the eight year old ever display this side of her character but now that she did, it reminded him so much of the very person he both loved and fear at the same time; his wife.

"H-hanabi, I-I am your f-father," Hiashi exclaimed sternly, only to fail once more under her unwavering glare.

"Some father you turned out to be," she growled. "Look what happened to Onee-chan!"

They say Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn. Yet, I wonder...does that actually apply to young eight year olds? Perhaps not but let's take a little side stroll for a moment; Hanabi was no mere eight year old, per se. When Hiashi first replaced his first born daughter with his second, he never thought that things would have turned out this way. Hanabi might have been respectful, courteous and mild towards him but he always knew in his heart that his younger daughter resented him for the harsh treatment she imparted towards her dear onee-chan. That said however, Hanabi was a realist, and though it went against her judgement to accept their father's approval, she did so anyway, if only to improve her sister's treatment later on. That said however, she was ever cautious to hide her more manipulative and crafty nature away from prying eyes.

There's also saying in Asia that goes, "The true master does not reveal his intentions like a wise fool who spouts knowledge out to everyone" and in this case, the idiom fitted the young eight year old perfectly. Nobody, not even her sister, could ever imagine just how much of a prodigy she had actually turned out to be. Then again, it seemed ironic that the very people who had somehow triggered her unnatural talent and maturity were none other than her family members; Neji cared for Hinata dearly but often regarded her as a burden he rather not have from time to time, whereas their father was no different, pushing her to one side for the sake of the 'family'. Now, she thought grimly. The gloves are off. Had her father not formally signed her name in as company heir, she would not have been in a position of power right now but a certain blonde had provided her with the means of doing so, namely, a huge panel of lawyers, some string pulling here and there and lastly the media's attraction to her current cause.

"I think it's time we bring everyone in," she snarled, earning more sweatdrops from the two older men. Snapping her fingers, Tenten, now her new assisstant skipped very gracefully towards her before handing her a certain document. Her eyes narrowed as she read through each and everyone of those lines. It looks like Naruto-kun was right, she thought. Time to take matters into her own hands. Slamming her palm down, she talked into the receiver, "Everyone get into my office this instant!"

As the entire office floor of people got in, they found to their amazement their two superior's sitting rather scared before a very angry looking eight year old, who was dressed rather formally in a light yellow kimono, with her hair done up into two ponytails. She might looks cute and innocent in that outfit but the atmosphere that she gave off was one of utter rage and sheer loathing. "I hope you're all ready to explain this," she called out almly to each and everyone of the workers. "It seems that there was a little accident in our branch here."

"Hyuuga-sama, who is that little girl there," Sakura demanded annoyed. Some people needed to keep a tighter leash on their children and it was rather pathetic in her eyes that Hiashi, Hyuuga head was being intimidated by his own daugther.

"Watch you tongue *****," the Hyuuga heiress snapped back. Hiashi forwned, Neji winced and Sakura...well, Sakura scowled back. The pink haired did not even have the faintest idea od just what troubles lay in front of her right now but when everything was dusted, Hanabi would make sure that whoever was involve in this entire affair would suffer at least ten times the amount that they had inflicted upon her sister. "I may be young but I think its time I show the world just how much of a threat I can be."

With another snap of her fingers, two rows of armed policeman arrived from another door leading to her office. If the workers weren't afraid, they were now. Looks of extreme confusion were strewn across each of the policemen's face but there were wiser than to be disobeying order from the Uzumaki heir and matraich themselves, well that and the fact that Kiba was the present police commissioner and he was just as ticked off as Hanabi was when some unknown stranger who claimed to be the Uzumaki heir and, get this, Hinata's fiance informed him of her near death experience. After filing an inquiry though, the Inuzuka realised just how serious the ordeal was, and because it involved someone close to him, vengeance was invoked. Now it had gotten personal for both the Hyuuga Heiress **AND** the head of police.

"H-hyuuga-sama," Ino stammered, forcing herself to smile. "Wh-what ever d-do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, *****," Hanabi replied back, earning a frown from the blonde worker in return. "Tell me, Ino-san...was there not an accident involving a certain worker name Hinata yesterday?"

"Yes but-" Ino began, before being pulled back by the roll of workers, The damage was done however and the atmosphere got even worse than before.

"Oh...so, tell me," Hanabi continued dangerously. "Just who was responsible for the poor worker's unfortunate condition?"

"Who cares about the bluenette's condition?!" one of the more foolish workers asked. Almost immediately, he regretted his statement instantly as a cup full of hot steaming coffee flew across the room and into his face. The eight yeat old had never like coffee before seeing as it was fat too bland for her taste but she had to admit, it had other far more useful qualities, especially when sizzling hot.

"Peace, H-hyuuga-sama," Tsubaki pleaded. "We apologise sincerly for his mistake and no doubt this will be a huge setback for the company's reputation but I'm sure we can sort this out, somehow!"

"Yeah, Hinata was one who always loved to come late and leave early," Ibara continued, unaware that Hanabi knew the real truth of the situation. "If we were to voice out our support, I'm sure we could help turn things around."

"No doubt the media would be swayed by the vast majority of the workers as opposed to one," Sakura continued pleasantly. "Of course...I feel that we should be rewarded for covering up such an accident..."

Another cup of coffee flew straight from Hanabi's hand and into the pink hair girl's chest, causing her to cried out in pain. "First of all, don't you even dare try to blackmail me in this situation," she roared. "Secondly, whoever dares to squandor _my sister's_ reputation will have what it is coming to them."

HER SISTER?! Shock faces strewn across the room at her statement. Never had they ever imagined that the newest pushover co-worker was none other than their bosses own daughter. As shock turned to terror, everyone began shuffling their feet at this sudden revelation. Hiashi might not have done anything to his daughter but this angry little eight year old had other matters...and whatever she was thinking, none of them liked it one bit. Sakura, however, had planned for such an incident and was already congratulating herself for thinking up a back up plan.

"It was someone called Matsuri," she answered back smugly. "We were all trying to help stop her. if you wanna blame someone, blame her."

"Your little mind games won't work on me, Haruno," Hanabi answered back. "Now, contrary to what you think, I know exactly just what it is that went on that very day. I'm giving you all one last chance at redeeming yourself...or do you want me to take matters into my own hands?"

Go back home and play dress up girlie, Sakura thought back. The coffee heat now gone, Sakura was feeling nothing but contempt and disgust at this pompous child. So what if her sister got into a life threatening situation? She had deserved it afterall. Now that Sakura realised that she was being cowed by none other than an eight year old, she felt ashamed and annoyed at herself. What could this puny little child do to her? "Make it your matter, if you so decide to do so," she sneered back. "I'm sure the media would be happy if they find out how bad the Hyuuga hot-shot treated their dear employees.

And therein lies Sakura's second mistake of the day; Hanabi might look like a small child but 'puny' was not the word to describe it and neither was 'child'. "I think I rather will," she threatened back, before pulling out a tape and playing it out in front of them in a projector. "Now tell me...who is that pink haired girl who pushed my onee-chan down the stairs, hmm? Officers, arrest the whole of them, this instant!"

"You can't do that!" Sakura yelled now, panic running through her system now as everyone else began stepping away from her. "That...that wasn't me! It was Ibara! Everyone else was in on it to! The media-"

"Will be oh so happy to find out about an entire office floor of employees bullying the famed heiress of the Hyuuga corporation who was sent to help them in their day-to-day duties," the brunette smirked back. "Oh don't worry about it Haruno-san, I've realeased the video onto the web already and I've contacted the newspaper agency, you should be thanking me. You'll be a star once everyone finds out about this."

"YOU LITTLE-" the now ex-worker and present convict now screamed as she launch herself forward, only to be stop as a group of half a dozen armed policemen held her captive.

"Haruno Sakura, you are under arrest for attempted murder of a fellow collageue, and your colleagues as well by crime of association," the squad leader called out.

"But we didn't know!" Ibara protested. "We wouldn't have done such a thing to her if we knew she was a Hyuuga!"

"That matter's little to us all," another officer said. "What matters is that you all have blood on your hands and unless the victim herself drops the charges, you are all going to be facing some time behind bars."

"Tou-san, Neji-san...leave me please," Hanabi ordered once everyone had left. "I have some important matters to think about."

"I think this should satify things, don't we?" a blonde officer called out, as he removed his helmet.

"It's a start," Hanabi grudgingly agreed. "But I'm not so sure about handing the company over to you just yet, Naruto-kun. Not until I see my sister."

"No," he answered back firmly. "Your sister, my fiance is not ready to meet you just yet. But if you're not going to hand over the company to me, then that's just fine. It's in good hands anyway."

"I don't care about the company," she snarled once more. "I want to see my onee-chan!"

"Am I'm not letting you do so until she's ready," he replied back sternly. "Don't even think you can outsmart me on this _girlie_, it was I who found out about your so-called illegal hobby in the first place."

"They're nothing wrong with some harmless hacking here and there!"

"Perhaps...but what would happen if someone *cough* your sister *cough* finds out about your so-called illicit activities? Especially when they involved invading her privacy?"

"..."

"Exactly, Hanabi-chan. I'm quite privy to certain information as the Uzumaki heir...but you already knew that don't you? Afterall, you figured that out in a single day," he laughed, before making his exit.

"I really _**REALLY**_ don't like that guy..."

_With Hinata a week later,_

It had only been a few minutes since Naruto had left after his daily visit and already our young heroine was scanning the room before her to look for anything even remotely interesting to catch her attention. I'm so bored, she thought restlessly. She could have gotten out of bed and do a little bit of exploring around the hospital floor seeing as there was a wheelchair next to her bed to accomodate for her handicap but Tsunade had trumped that rather nicely. Like all doctors, a patient's life was always worth more than their own and Tsunade had taken no risk when it came to her beloved nephew's fiance. No doubt, the first thing that crossed her mind was the concept of Hinata jumping out of bed and doing things that her body was not ready yet, especially seeing that her first act since regaining consciousness was trying to jump out and find the blonde herself. As such, and Tsunade found this to be rather amusing herself, she had decided to confined Hinata to her bed; the strap used to imprisoned the bluenette was not so special but it was the accompanying padlock that prevented her from even trying to undo the strap. She had tried, rather unsuccessfully, to persuade her fiance, his cousin and their aunt to allowed her the freedom of movement but they had all denied her that right, for the time being.

Sighing once more at the sight of the padlock, the bluenette tried to tug herself free but to no avail. As far as Tsunade was confirmed, she was not getting out of bed anytime soon and definitely **not** without her say-so. It didn't make matters any easier when Hinata was told that apart from Naruto and Karin, she was not allowed any other visitors, so as to not over-excite her in her present condition. I'm fine, she thought restlessly. I wanna see Naruto-kun...

As the door to her hospital room opened once more, Hinata braced herself for her daily intake of medicine. It was awful having to swallow such a huge amount of drugs at any one time but she readily do it if it meant being able to get up and about as soon as possible. As Tsunade stepped in though, she realised that there was a guest next to her that she had not seen before. From her large almond shape eyes to her oval like face, this person looked a drastically aged figure of Karin, but the twinkle behind those eyes of hers, reminded her so much of Naruto than anything else. There were the exact same twinkle, bright, shinning and full of hope and life.

"How are you feeling, Hyuuga-san?" Tsunade asked as she began her daily routine of checking her patient up. Her medical condition was getting better and better all the time. Her memories, however, had not returned at all and nothing Naruto did was able to trigger them at all. The only thing that he had managed to bring up was a sobbing fir from her when Hanabi had given him her toy fox plushie to show to her onee-chan. Unfortunately, one look at the doll and Hinata had burst immediately into tears, without even knowing the reason why. She knew the memory was lying inside there somewhere but she didn't know how to access it, as if someone had covered them with an impenetrable veil. And though the bluenette seemed traumatised by the whole incident, Naruto was the worst of for it; he had altogether given up on trying to restore her memories, seeing as he didn't want to cause any sort of hurt or trauma to his dear bluenette at all.

"B-better, Tsunade-sama. O-ohayo Baa-chan," she smiled back. Her body was still sore and weak but the lethargy that usually followed after a major operation were now gone and she was more than ready to get out of bed and help out however best she could. It only infuriated her more that neither Naruto or Karin would tell her of her past or her family, no matter how much she had pleaded with them to do so. The cousin's however, were well justified in their actions. What would happened to Hinata is they told her that instead of a loving family, she had proceeded to grow up in a very tense and judgemental atmosphere? Add to that, that her ex-fiance had just decided to so readily leave her without even a second thought and Hiashi had wasted almost little to no time in marrying her off to someone else?

Whatever the outcome, it would hardly likely to be a good one and though Naruto hated keeping her in the dark about it, he had stuck to it. Something that Karin had actually agreed on, one the few rare times whenever they saw eye to eye. With little to do and nothing to keep her entertain at all, our dear Hina-chan had spent an entire week of isolation, wondering just who on Earth she actually was. She knew her name and she knew who her fiance was but apart from that, she didn't know anything else. It was only the thought of seeing Naruto everyday before and after work that kept her distress levels in check, but only just. If Tsunade didn't let her out of bed soon, she was going to go insane.

What a sweet child, Mito thought, who by the way was the mysterious stranger who had accompanied Tsunade in. And very polite too. Though, poor thing...how does she manage to keep herself entertain in here?

"I've got good news, Hina-san," Tsunade suddenly announced, as she reached down and unlock the padlock, freeing her for the first time since her surgery. "While you're not yet medically fit to be discharged just yet, Mito-sama over here has agreed to pay for your private medical care at home. Isn't that great?"

"B-but th-that's not fair!" she protested. "I-I don't even kn-know you, baa-chan..."

An annoyed twitch crossed Mito's face at her words and Tsunade hid her laugh with a small 'hum' as she surveyed Hinata's paperwork once more. Leave it to Naruto to leave out the very person who set them up in the first place, she thought jovially. Unfortunately, her little laugh was caught on by the Uzumaki and like her two grandchildren, Mito was rather well known for holding grudges. Sidestepping slowly, she rammed her walking stick onto Tsunade's right foot, before smiling down at the bluenette before her, ignoring the blonde's howls of fury, as well as the curses that soon followed afterwards.

"I'm Naruto's grandmother, dear," she called out gently gently, reaching out a hand to carass the bluenette's head. "And don't you worry you little head off. I won't have you spend another second in this damn little room."

"Uh-uh," the bluenette refused stubbornly. The Uzumakis had done far too much for her already and they was just no way, she was going to allow them to pay for her home care when she wasn't even related to them. Perhaps, Naruto cared for her because she was his fiance but letting his grandmother cover her medical expenses was pushing it too far. As far as the humble Hyuuga girl knew, this was taking advantage of people's kindness and she would rather do without the luxury, even if it meant spending a few more weeks locked up in bed.

And just as stubborn as that grandson of mine, Mito sighed to herself. No wonder Hiashi said they make such a great pair. Well, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer.

Snapping her fingers, Naruto's assisstant, appeared instantly before them. Without so much as a word, he had gracefully stepped forward, lifted the vulnerable Hinata, ignoring her cries of protests as best he could, before swiftly depositing her onto the wheelchair and proceeded to wheel her out of the room. "Please stop squirming, Hinata-sama," Shikamaru advised, as he wheeled her off towards the elevator. "I don't my boss would be very happy with me if something were to happen to you."

"B-but I-I-" she hesitated back, finding the whole ordeal too much for mere words. The Nara understood her dilemna all too well.

"Trust me Lady Hyuuga," he told her. "Whenever the Uzumaki's do anything, I'm afraid there's just no saying 'no' to them."

"They d-don't p-pay you enough f-for this," she muttered back.

Don't I already know it, Shikamaru thought back but answered her, "You are the first person to ever say that, milady. But, let's not dwell too much on it. I'm sure there are much better things to talk about than my _autobiography_."

"Poor you," she giggled back. "Don't w-worry, I'll convince N-naru-kun to g-give you a-a raise."

"That would be delightful," he answered back, as the elevator doors closed behind them.

_At the Uzumaki manor later on,_

"Thank y-you for setting this up, M-mito-sama," Hinata cried as Shikamaru wheeled her into the living room. Once more, the bluenette found herself totally immerse in just how luxurious the Uzumaki's life were. As Mito sat herself down on the sofa in front of her, she gestured Hinata to do the same. Lifting herself up gently from the wheelchair, Hinata sat herself down next to the older Uzumaki.

"Please, call me baa-chan, Hinata," she answered back with a warm smile. Picking up a tea cup, she asked her, "Would you like some tea, dear?"

"It's al-alright, baa-chan," the bluenette answered back, facing away from Mito this time. Frowning at her actions, the elder Uzumaki set her cup down before placing her hands on the bluenette's face and turning her round to face her.

"Hinata-san," Mito called out. "Is there something wrong? Are you...are you not happy with my little arrangement?"

"It's n-not that, Baa-chan," she answered back miserably. "It-s j-just th-that...you guys h-have d-done so much for me and I-I can't do anything b-back in return. I f-feel so...useless."

Hiashi is going to have to answer for what he did to my future daughter-in-law, Mito thought angrily but right now, there was something else she needed to do. "Now, Hina-chan," she replied, picking up on her grandchildren's nickname of the bluenette before her. "If you're going to live with us, there's only one simple rule that I want you to follow. Can you do that?"

"H-hai!" she answered back eagerly, and causing the Uzumaki matriach to flinch in return.

Well, I can certainly see where Hiashi's personality has gone to, that's for certain, she thought. Then clearing her throat, she said, "You must never ever say that you're useless, do you hear me?"

"B-but Mito-sama-"

"Don't you dare argue with me, young lady," she answered back sternly. "Each time I hear you call yourself that dreadful word, I'll force you to share a bed with my grandson."

"Eep!" she squeaked back, her face blushing intensely at the older woman's statement. Open though she was with her emotions now that her memories were no more, Hinata was still the same old timid little rabbit whenever it came to embarassing situations with the blonde. Personal contact was alright in her eyes, though it wasn't always like this, but sharing a bed with her fiance? That was something they hadn't explore yet in their relationship and she wasn't about to find that out anytime soon, that's for certain. Mito, on the other hand, sweatdropped at her reaction. She knew of many who would only be too happy to swap places with Hinata, something that both she and Karin had shared a distaste of. And like her granddaughter, both females members had wasted no time in chasing off such opportunistic suitors, though Naruto himself never showed interest in them. For the first time since she had set eyes on the bluenette, Mito realise just why Karin loved to tease her older cousin about his relationship with his, to use Naruto's own words, "estranged' fiance. As far as she could tell, Naruto loved Hinata very dearly but was too afraid to admit it and similarly, Hinata did not realise that her mere crush had blossomed into so much more than mere infatuation.

A sly smirk spread across her face as she considered all the possibilities that she could use in blackmailing the blonde into. I think I'm going to like this arrngement just fine, she thought cunningly.

"Well?" she asked once more, to which the bluenette could only nod back shyly in return. Now that that was settled, she reached out and pulled the still blushing bluenette into a warm hug. "You're family now, Hina-chan and family always look out for one another."

"O-okay," she answered back quietly. "Baa-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"C-can you...can you tell me a-about m-my past?" she asked, hope flaring in the bluenette's eyes as she turned to face Mito once more. Hating the fact that Naruto had kept her in the dark this whole time, but also knowing that it was for her own good, Mito dreaded what she was going to tell her next. Unfortunately before she could even utter out a single phrase, the fron door clicked open and Naruto together with a very beautiful looking girl stepped through. As both pairs of eyes turned to stare at the new comers, the blonde and his apparent female companion were far too busy to pay him any attention otherwise. It certainly didn't help matters that he was dressed in rather smart suit and his counterpart in a very feminine kimono.

"I see, so the Yuki household has agreed to this, have they?" our favourite blonde called out, signing off the last of the documents that they had brought along.

"Hai, Naruto-kun," his companion called out. "I'm sure we'll be able to find a good use for those old factories of yours that you no longer need."

"Well, as long as they're for the sake of those orphanages. Seriously, the leaders in the Land of Water need to stop this stupid civil war, it's doing nothing but cause strife and misunderstanding all around!" He was about to say more when Mito suddenly gave a cough, alerting the two to their presence. As both companions turned to stare at the source of the noise, they found one older looking woman with red and white hair flash them a very wary look and a younger, and very bandaged up looking girl in her early twenties, sporting a very hurt and betrayed one.

"Hina! What are you doing here?!" Naruto called out as he rushed forward to embrace her. Before he could do so however, the bluenette had reached out an arm and slapped him rather sharply across the cheek before pushing herself back onto the wheelchair, whereupon a very understanding Shikamaru pushed her out of the house and into the garden outside.

"Er...what just happen?" his companion asked, to which a very confused Naruto was wondering about as well.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you again, Haku-san," Mito expressed warily. "I must apologise for our guest's...manner. I suppose, Naruto's fiance has a bit of a jealous streak to her it seems."

"But I'm a _guy_!"Haku protested, to which Naruto dumbly agreed. "Besides, I'm sure Uzumaki-kun over here would never cheat on someone as cute as her."

"Hey, that's my fiance you talking about," the blonde growled back.

"She doesn't know that, does she?" Mito answered back quietly, sipping her tea.

"Baa-chan!"

"Don't look at me, she's your fiance..." she replied back [gee, thanks a lot grandma], hidding a giggle as she did so. Rubbing his head now, the blonde took a deep breath before going out to meet the bluenette, Haku giving him a thumbs up as he did so.

_Outside with Hinata,_

Baka Naruto, the bluenette thought, as she angrily hit the handles on her wheelchair, before wincing out in pain. So all this time, she had been coop up, waiting his arrival day in and day out, he had instead been cheating behind her back?! Life was so unfair sometimes, just because she was a tiny bit handicap, her beloved blonde, whom she would have gladly died for, had secretly went behind her back and courted other more able ladies?! That was too much for her poor heart to handle. Or at least, that was what she thought of anyway...

"Hina! There you are, hime!" his familiar voice called out. Shikamaru was gone now but even with him helping her, she doubt the two of them could outrun Naruto. "Hina, let me explain-"

"Go away!" she yelled at him, her eyes watering now.

"It's not what it looks like!' he protested, but she only turned away from him. Sighing now, he reached down to her level before turning the wheelchair, and her along with it, to face him. "Hina, give me a chance here."

"You c-cheater!" she cried angrily, the tears flowing freely now. "J-just because she's p-prettier th-than m-me and *sob* I'm i-injured, y-you *sob* *sob *sob*..."

"Hina, would you please listen to me?" he sighed once more, putting his arms around her. The bluenette reacted angrily at that but Naruto merely lifted her up out of the wheelchair and carrier her across the garden bridal style. Spotting a shady little area nearby, he seated the two of them down, ignoring the threats and glares the bluenette was giving him.

"W-why should I?" she muttered angrily, squirming once more in his embrace.

"Because first of all," he answered back patiently. "I care for you too much to ever cheat on you and secondly, why would I ever cheat on someone as cute as you, hime?"

"Because you th-think s-she's p-prettier than me?" she answred back angrily. It was a weak answer but a true at that. Weak because Naruto would never ever look at anyone based on their appearance alone, given that he was a bit of a misogynist himself and the bluenette knew it herself but true because compare to the way Hinata was currently dressed, bandaged up in her casual hospital attire, she felt very threatened by the very feminine and beautiful looking male. Of course, she didn't know that and bearing in mind that her fiance was still her only anchor to reality, seeing him in such an unfavourable light only weakened her resolve to stay in the world of the living.

"Hina, what makes you think I would ever look at another girl when I was the same person who begged you to stay with me in the first place?" he answered back, causing her to flinch in response. Checkmate, she thought back. When he put it like that, there was no way she knew he would ever do such a despicable thing especially when she could still remember her memories of the nights before. Each time Naruto had visited her, he had always greeted her with an apology for asking her to stay with him. Back then, Hinata always silenced with with a small hug, informing him that she would gladly crossed the rivers of death a thousand time for him and him alone. Now that he was using that against her however, she didn't know what to say or think.

"B-but why w-were y-you f-flirting with s-such a b-beautiful g-girl?" she asked back, her heart breaking in the process. Actions spoke louder than words and catching him in the act of cheating on her only made it that much dreaful when he had always promised her he would never look at another girl.

"Hina, I was not flirting!" he answered back, thoroughly annoyed now.

"Oh yeah? Well it looked like flirting to me!" she yelled back. "Go back to your k-kimono lady! I d-don't need you!"

"If you keep this up, maybe I will," he replied back dangerously. A small look of horror flashed through his bluenette's face as she heard his words, making him regret them instantly. "But what would you do if I did go, hime?"

"I don't s-see anymore r-reason to be h-here a-anymore," she replied back just as quietly. Reaching for her head bandage, the blonde's eyes widened in terror as he realised just what she was about to do. Quicker than the eye could see, he held her in an iron grip, ignoring her feeble struggles as she tried to free herself. "Let go! Y-you said y-you don't n-need me anymore!"

"Listen to me, please," the blonde begged now. "I would never hurt you, hime."

"I d-don't wanna," she made a feint for the bandage once more but the blonde still had her in that iron tight hold. Seeing that there was no way she was ever going to listen to him now, the Uzumaki tried a different approach altogether.

"Hime, if you left...what would happen to me? Have you ever thought about that, hmm?" he told her but Hinata was still too full of hurt and betrayal to feel sorry for him.

"I'm s-sure you'll manage," she hissed back. "Let go! Let go! Let go!"

"Then I'll tell you what I'll do, Hina," he whispered back. "I'll follow you to the world beyond."

"You wouldn't!" It was one thing to commit suicide but another thing altogether if he did it for her sake. Angry and hurt though she was, there wa no way Hinata would be able to live with herself, in this life or the next, if he did commit suicide for her sake. "You..y-you...y-you _cheater_!"

"Now that we're on even footing, I think you'll be willing to listen to me now?" he asked, but the bluenette only looked away. Sighing this time round, he asked her her, "Hina...you know you mean the world to me. What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," she sniffed back. "I d-don't w-want anything f-from you! You w-won't even l-let me die i-in peace!"

"That's because I _love_ you, hime," he answered back, causing both his face and hers to blush a bright red blush now. A moment of silence passed by as both of them contemplated the meaning behind those words. It was the first time the blonde had ever confessed his feelings so openly to the bluenette before and similarly, this was the first time the bluenette had ever heard him utter those words so tenderly before.

"D-do you m-mean it?" she whispered.

"Hina...I would rather die than live another day without you," he answered back, reaching down to give her a kiss but she pushed him away. She wasn't going to forgive him just like that. He still had a lot of explaining to do.

"Then w-why...why were y-you with such a-a beautiful g-girl?" she whined once more. This time round however, the blonde smirked. Reaching down to her ears he whispered the truth of the matter, casuing her entire face to go up in embarassment as she realised the gravity of her situation. She had kicked up this much of a fuss...because she was jealous of him hanging out with a beautiful _guy_?

"I-I'm sorry..." she apologised, hiding her face in his chest now.

"Now do you believe me, hime?" he smirked, earning a another whine from her in return. "But seriously Hina, I hang around with a multitude of women from around the world. You can't just go and get jealous at every pretty girl I hang out with."

"P-promised me y-you won't l-love a-another girl first," she demanded to which he hurriedly shook his head. "I...knew i-it."

"I c-can't promise that, Hina," he teased now, his tone light once more. "Because though you'll always be first in my heart, there will always be place for a second lady...and she'll call you mom."

"Naru-kun..."

"Well, wanna make that a reality?" he teased her once more, earning him a reproving look as well as a near heart attack as she reached out for her bandage once more. "Hina! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"What d-does it l-look l-like?!" she questioned back, embarassment flooding through her. "I wa-wanna d-die..."

"Okay okay, I was just kidding!" he sighed back. Saying so, he got ready to leave when he felt a small tug on his sleeve.

"P-promise you w-won't s-say something l-like that e-ever again," she blushed, still very much embarassed by his earlier statement. When he hesitated , she reached out her hand once more and Naruto finally gave in.

"Fine! I promise! Just don't try and kill yourself anymore!" he begged. Sighing happily now that he had given her his word, Hinata reached up and place a soft kiss on his cheek, before snuggling back into his arms once more.

"L-let's j-just stay here f-for a moment, Naru-kun," she hummed. "I missed y-you s-so much to-today."

"And I you, hime," he replied, nuzzling her hair this time round. "Before I forget, hime, here's you new ring."

Reaching down, he pulled out a simple looking ring before handing it over to her. The ring might looke deceptively cheap but as the bluenette felt the soft touch of the metal, she knew that wasn't the case. It might look like silver but the soft smooth touch alerted her to the fact that it was none other than platinum. A metal, far more expensive than gold. That aside, the ring itself had simple carving, on the inside which was engraved, "_my princess_"

"Th-this must h-have caused a fortune, Naru-kun!' she thought aloud, to which Naruto merely nodded.

"It was hard to find pure platinum that was dense enough to mold into a ring," he answered back. "But you're worth more than all the platinum in the world, hime."

"I-I c-can't accept th-this!' she protested, only for the blonde to snatch the ring out of her grasp and forced it onto her ring finger.

"It's yours, hime," he whispered firmly. "And don't you dare let anyone else tell you otherwise."

She was just about to reject when a new thought crossed her mind. Since there was just no way he was ever going to accept the ring back, she have to make do with a compromise, "I'll a-accept y-your ring, Na-naru-kun. B-but I w-want s-something in return."

"I'm not telling you about your past though, hime," he warned her but she shook her head at that. I don't like the sound of that, he thought this time but gestured for her to continue.

"L-let me w-work as y-your assisstant," she told him. "Everyone h-has b-been so nice to me...I-I want to pay th-them back..."

"Hina, you're still injured! I can't just order you around after your operation," he protested.

"W-want me to pull m-my bandage again?" she threatened, to which he finally relented.

"Okay, you win," he answered back defeated. "But promise me you won't overwork yourself. I can't bear to live if anything ever happens to you..."

"Only if y-you d-don't g-give me s-simple j-jobs, Naru-kun," she hummed happily once more.

"I'm sure we can work out something."

"Hai."

* * *

><p>Chapter end.<p>

This was another goddamn chapter that took FOREVER to write since I had to try and compensate for the late of romance earlier on. Next chapter features the cross-dressing scene-Want more fluff and romance? Leave it in the reveiw once more and i'll try to think up of a scenario. If not, it'll probably be a fluffless chapter that will focus on the plot progression.


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and sorry for the late update. Currently planning newer chapters for my other side story "Date" as well as my main story. I had definitely put "Date" on indefinite hold due to the lower amount of favourites and followers-surprisingly, it has suddenly gotten a huge surge of interest and I might have to put this story on hold O.O

On a side note: I realised that I haven't been particularly straightforward with this little side series and might have to do some serious restructuring. Some advice from you guys will be of trememdous help to me. I think one major flaw was the beginning. I am going to get right into the suspense with chapter 10 guys, so let's see how it progress from here.

ANYWAY, to the next chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Old grudges die hard...<p>

_With Naruto and Hinata on the ride home,_

"So how was your first day at work, Hina-chan?" our blonde hero asked as he tried to keep the excitement in his voice contained.

The bluenette gave him a tired little smile before answering. In essence, it had a wonderful day. Each and everyone of her new colleagues in the Uzumaki headquarters were very nice, courteous and gentle with her, though this was hardly surprising since they found the sight of her present appearance rather distressing to say the least. Also, compared to the atmosphere around the Hyuuga cooperation, her new work place was light, serene and peaceful, unlike the dark, gloomy and tense back at her father's company. Despite all this however, the bluenette suspected that her beloved fiance had rigged the outcome just for her first day and when she had voiced out her concern to a slightly amused Shikamaru, the Nara gave a short laugh before answering back that everyone was treated like family in the building, and those that didn't were promptly fired, Naruto's ex-secretary being the most prominent example.

It was also then that Hinata realized that despite being taken advantage of at her old work place, people could be nice, kind and understanding just like her. A fact that the blonde, had tried so hard to convince her in when she began having nightmares about her previous co-workers. The blonde did try to shield her as best as he could but Karin had argued otherwise that she wouldn't have her cousin-in-law living up their house as a caged bird, something that his fiance agreed on and that was what led to their current situation. Also, despite being recently released from the hospital, the bluenette had proven herself just as capable as the blonde in managing business dealings and her work ethic shocked him. No doubt, he knew just what was going through her mind but refrained from doing anything about it; it was so hard to get her to smile these days anyway.

"It w-was lo-lovely Naru-kun," she whispered, laying her head against his right shoulder, before realizing that something was very wrong. Instead of the usual path, their driver had taken them on a completely different course as Shikamaru swerved around in the opposite direction. Worried now, she glanced up at the blonde, who by then was sporting a mischievous smile, "W-where are w-we going, Naru-kun?"

"Oh just a little something me, Karin and baa-chan planned to celebrate your recovery from the hospital," he answered back, the excitement no longer contained in his voice anymore. "Baa-chan thought you might like to take some your mind off from those nightmares of yours and what better way to do so than to organize an event in your name, Hina-chan?"

The bluenette gave him a reproving look at that, which the blonde promptly ignored. When it came to their relationship, there was only ever one thing the two disagreed on; the way he and his family were treating her. No matter how many times Mito had tried to brushed aside all the kind things the Uzumakis had done, the young Hyuuga girl was still very uncomfortable at the way they had treated her; like her princess. In her world, she had always been abused mentally and verbally by both the people around her and those closest to her, with perhaps the exception of her sister and mother. Regardless, having someone treat her like this, or rather an entire clan and household, was mind boggling and Hinata found it more of a burden than a blessing. In her eyes, she felt so powerless and useless that she could nothing in return for them.

To make matters worst, her feelings towards the blonde had also developed a bit of a barrier currently. There wasn't any doubt in her mind that she loved him as well as being aware of the fact that her fiance loved her dearly back but ever since he openly confessed his feelings to her the day before, she had felt nothing but restlessness and guilt right now. And when Naruto finally coaxed it out of her, her explanation only made him frown. He had a tiny hint as to why she was feeling as such but had not decided to pursue the subject in front of her. When Hinata had left to sleep however, both cousins turned to give each other a look before coming to the same conclusion.

_Flashback,_

_"Nii-san, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Karin had asked the night before. Both Uzumakis were then sitting upon the sofa in their large living room, with hard looks on their face. It seemed that despite everything they had done, it still wasn't enough to help relieve their dear friend of her past burden._

_"Hai. It's quite obvious though, Karin," he replied back, his hands clasped in front of him as he analyzed her choice of words. "To have your heart tell you one thing but have your mind decide otherwise...I've had that feeling before..."_

_"Then you know this is going to be a lot of work," she sighed back. "The way I see it, your relationship with Hina-chan is at a standstill because there's something that prevents her from accepting you fully, which I'm sure you know what."_

_"The teme," he growled back. "Not that we can blame her. Her kind heart is telling her that it wouldn't be right because it feels like she's cheating on me for not having closure with the blasted guy. "_

_"That or the fact that she still loves him..." Karin warned him. "Nii-san, I know you might not like this idea...but I think it's time to tell her the truth. We can't keep her in the dark anymore."_

_"I don't want to," he muttered back, her heart breaking in the process. Risking her mental stability was something he was never going to gamble on but more than that was the fear of what she would have done with the information she was given. Foremost was the fact that while he didn't care if the bluenette still loved her ex-boyfriend, he was more than worried that she would most likely leave him if she found out that she still indeed harbor such feelings for the Uchiha. "I know Hina-chan, Karin. She's the type that would shoulder everything on her own to save someone else's happiness."_

_"Something that **you** would do," she informed him but didn't pursue the matter any further._

_"I don't care if she still loves her ex-boyfriend Karin," Naruto answered back now. "But I can't bear the fact that she'll just decide to leave me because her heart tell her its unfair for me for loving two guys at the same time. She's my everything now."_

_"Nii-san..."_

_"You could always do the alternative," Mito chipped in as she walk towards the two of them. "Listen to me, both of you. The simplest way would be to make new memories for her. Happy memories, better one to replace her old, and when the time comes, she won't want to leave you anymore, especially if you show her just how much she means to you."_

_"But baa-chan, how do we do that?" he granddaughter asked back to which Mito merely smirked in return._

_"Leave that to me, dear. Grandma will take care of it..."_

_Flashback ends._

And that was where we finally come full circle. It was a simple event to say the least but a very important and potentially name spreading event worldwide. The Uzumakis always held a simple charity auction every year for the sake of the less fortunate and the object of interest this year was for the village's orphanage. While Karin hated the event tremendously due to the fact that the people involved were always rich snobs who didn't actually give a damn about the poor but were only there for the sake of boosting their own egos and reputation, she had finally decided to help out this one time, if only for the sake of her future cousin-in-law. Naruto, for his part, was just as displeased with the whole idea of it; he didn't like the fact that they were using something like this to help boost his fiance's reputation of him but finally relented when Mito told him that Hinata would be more than pleased where she realized just where the money was going to.

There was also one other reason why Mito had arranged the event for them. Tired of the numerous offers from potential suitors worldwide her grandson was getting, as well as being aware that there were going to be a lot of news reported at the event, she had secretly leaked out the information to the news that the [currently] unknown and famed Uzumaki clan heir was going to be present, along with his bride and if that didn't help seal the deal of Naruto's marriage vow, then nothing will. Then again, she wouldn't have resorted to such drastic measures if the two would only **SIGN THE DAMN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE BUT NO... **

But I digress, back to the young pair,

"Where a-are w-we, N-naru-kun?" Hinata asked as he helped her out of the car and onto her wheelchair once more. It looked like a simple building but instinct told her otherwise.

"Just a little something me, Karin and baa-chan thought up for your get well soon present," he mused. The bluenette, however, was not amused. Sighing this time round, he took a different approach altogether, "It's a little auctioning event Hina-chan. Wealthy families throughout the nation gather here where we organize all of this for the sake of helping the less fortunate."

She still looked skeptical. "It's for the orphans at the orphanage, Hina-chan," he added and finally her face soften.

"O-okay," she answered back, her face now red at the way people were snickering at her current office wear appearance.

"Ignore them, Hina-chan," he whispered back to her, before handing her a white box. "And before I forget, baa-chan told me to have this delivered to you. She wants you to offer this for our clan's item of donation. Remember to donate it in **_your_** name though, okay?"

"What i-is it?" she asked before gasping at the sight before her. There, within the box, laid a priceless piece of jewelery the world had never seen; a silver and gold crown lined with hundreds of priceless gemstones all over that you couldn't even tell there was a metal band holding it together. If anything however, it was the craftsmanship of it that caught her eyes; this was no jewelery; it was a regalia and _it belonged in a museum_.

"Pretty isn't it?" he chuckled at her reaction. "Baa-chan was going to give it to you and but after seeing your reaction with my ring yesterday, she decided to donate it away."

"Y-you s-should do i-it, Naru-kun," she protested. It wasn't fair for her to accept credit for something that didn't even belong to her in the first place but the blonde shook his head firmly in return. "I-it's b-because o-of what I-I s-said y-yesterday, i-isn't it?"

That caught the blonde off guard as he heard her words. "No," he answered back neutrally, which was all she needed to hear. Reaching for his hand, she held his palm in hers, her chest hurting at just how far the blonde would go for her sake.

"N-naru-kun," she cried. "Y-you don't h-have to d-do this. M-my heart is a-already yours. I...I d-don't need anything m-more. P-please...you're only m-making m-me sad."

"I know, hime," he told her, as he pulled her face close to his chest. "Trust me, when I say I believe you. That said however, you are still going to do what I tell you, are we clear?"

"B-but-"

"No buts!" he snapped back firmly, before unhooking himself away from her. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sort out some legal matters with the host."

"H-he works t-too hard," she whined back as Shikamaru took over her wheelchair. "C-can't y-you do s-something, N-nara-san?"

"I was hoping maybe you could actually, Lady Hyuuga," the assistant sighed. "Naruto-sama never listens to me but the way he looks at you makes me think that perhaps you would be able to do something."

"I'll t-try," she whispered before suddenly flinching at the sight before her. There, in front of the entrance stood the second to last person she had hoped to never meet; a blond girl who looked to be in her early twenties was giving off brochures as well as receiving admission passes to the guests available; it was Ino and boy, did she looked like she didn't want to be there. "C-can w-we f0find a-another entrace?"

"There's only one entrance, Lady Hyuuga," he blinked back. "Is something the matter?"

"N-no," she answered back in a tone that said otherwise. Slowly, Shikamaru wheeled her towards the Yamanaka, wondering just why she was so flustered at the blonde girls appearance. The bluenette for her sake, angled her head away from Ino, praying that she wouldn't recognize her. Her prayers and hope, however, were all in vain as the Yamanaka was only too aware of the very person who had landed her in this position in the first place.

"I know you," she sneered, earning another flinch from the bluenette. "You're Hinata aren't you? Who do you think you are? This place is only for elites! Its not something some displaced little Hyuuga princess can so randomly come to!"

"Excuse me madam," Shikamaru began when Ino turned a baleful eye at him.

"Who's this? Your new fiance?" she mocked. "What happened to that so-called office boy?! Hah, better he wouldn't want a mummy now would he? I don't blame him, look at you! You look like something the cat dragged in from the dumpster."

"I-Ino san..." she choked back, her tears running freely now. She didn't know what she had done to earn the blonde girl's contempt but it was very unfair of her to treat her as such. Hinata had spent many nights just for her sake without her even uttering so much as utter a simple thank you and here she was right now, belittling her and condemning her in front of the public. "W-what d-did I e-ever do t-to you?"

"Tears again?" she taunted back. Most people would have stopped by then but bear in mind that it was because of the girl in front of her that Ino was in her current position. She had lost her job and her boyfriend, all because this little snitch had to question their orders. Seeing her suffer and being humiliated in front of everyone else however, only made her revenge all the more sweeter. It was time for some little pay-back. "That's all you're ever good for isn't it? You fell down the staircase and had the nerve to blame t on us? Where's you Naruto-kun now huh? WELL WHERE IS HE?!"

The bluenette was properly sobbing by then and Shikamaru was just about to intervene when a cold voice called out behind the three of them, "that's quite enough I think." Turning they found a red haired girl along with a line of very scary and very bulky looking bodyguards, two of which began to restrain the Yamanaka at the red haired girl's snap of a finger. As Ino yelled out against this, Hinata wiped her eyes before gasping out in shock at the figure before her. It was none other than Karin.

But this wasn't the Karin who had always greeted her with a soft tone and a gentle smile; this was the representative of the Uzumaki chain's Board of Directors and the Clan's elders and she was dressed for the occasion as well. Forgoing her lavender uniform, she now wore a tight fitting black suit, along with the matching black skirt that came along with it. Similarly her brown glasses were now replaced with black shades that glinted menacingly in the sunlight and her hair was now tied into a formal ponytail. This Karin was one who had the power to dismiss people with the snap of a finger...and wasn't afraid to use that same power right now.

"What is going on here?!" a blonde man in his early fifties called out as he saw Ino being manhandled by the Uzumaki's bodyguards. "Unhand my daughter at once!"

"So she's your daughter is it?" Karin replied, taking off her shades now to focus a glare on Inoichi. As the elder Yamanaka turned to glare at the red haired girl, he suddenly realized how dangerous his situation was right now. The Uzumaki clan was well renown for their loyalty and their firm, unyielding stature with with their close friends worldwide but even more so for their ruthless and unrelenting punishments with those who wrong those closest to them. If Inoichi didn't do something quick, he could find himself in very very deep waters soon.

"F-forgive my foolish daughter for her actions, Uzumaki-sama," he spluttered, prostrating before herself now and earning a look of horror from Ino as she realized just who she had insulted.

Cracking her knuckles, the red haired girl muttered only one line, "Why should I?"

"But I didn't do anything!" Ino argued back angrily, struggling once more at her captive's hold before quailing at the intense gaze of her father. "I didn't say anything to her...I was only doing s-some teasing to H-hina-chan...right, Hina-chan?"

"Teasing?" Karin growled back dangerously and making everyone in her vicinity to grimaced at her sudden anger. "Looks like verbal assault to me! Inoichi, the deal is off! I'm cancelling the event right here, right now and I'm holding you and that spawn of yours responsible for this whole damn mess! Nobody insults my nii-san's fiance and gets away with it!"

"Please you can't!" he begged, before realizing just what it is his daughter had done. "You c-can't mean..."

"Hai, let me introduce you to the future bride of the clan heir, Inoichi," she answered back. "Too bad, your daughter had to go off and shoot her mouth like that. I must thank you though, Ino-san, for informing me just why we shouldn't do business with _scums_ the likes of you."

"P-please Lady Uzumaki!" Inoichi begged now, when he suddenly felt a firm squeeze from the bluenette behind him.

"Th-that's enough, K-karin-san," Hinata called out softly but firmly. "T-today's s-suppose to b-be a joyous o-occasion."

"Tsk...fine, but once this whole thing is done, I'll make sure you never do business ever again," she thundered before signalling her people to follow after her. As Inoichi turned round to give his daughter a good scolding, Ino could only focus a jealous eye on the injured Hinata. What she would give to be in her shoes right now, the shoes of the Uzumaki clan heir's bride...

_With the two girls,_

"You have a lot of enemies, Hina-chan," Karin sighed once they were well outside of earshot. "Just what is it that you did to them?"

"I don't kn-know, she confessed, her voice breaking. "A-all I-Iever d-did was s-say n-no..."

"Hey, its alright. We're here for you remember?" Karin assured her gently. "Those scumbags got what it was coming to them. how are you feeling though, Hina-chan?"

"M-much better thanks," the bluenette smiled back before suddenly handing Mito's white box over to her, her face full of hope. Karin however, merely smiled back before pushing the box back to her. There were some things the timid Hyuuga girl was just going to have to learn to accept, their kindness being one of them. Besides, she had always shared her kindness out to everyone so what's a little harm in her receiving some of it in return?

"That's _your_ job, Hina-chan," she teased back and earning a small groan in return. Then straightening up, she continued in a much more serious voice as a group of reporters began making their way towards her. "Forgive me but I think it's time I handled that damn press-conference. Let's have dinner later on, Hina-chan."

With that Karin turned to face the onslaught of questions from the swarm of photographers, media workers and reporters, while Shikamaru hurriedly wheeled the bluenette away from their attention. It wouldn't do if they found out just who she was when Mito had specifically ordered him not to reveal any undisclosed information before the appropriate time. Luckily, the reporters were far too busy bombarding his superior than to care about the bluenette's true identity. As Shikamaru wheeled her safety to the receptionist, he quietly excused himself to the toilet before showing her where to place the donation.

"Hello?" Hinata asked, as she ringed the receptionist bell once her fiance's assistant was gone. Truth be told, this was what she had been waiting for; Naruto and Karin might want her to donate Mito's souvenir in her name but now that she was alone, she was going to do so in their name. They had deserved it so much more than she did and there was just no way she was going around that. As her call remained unanswered however, she slowly reached down and pulled up a pink scarf from inside her jacket before giving it a little nuzzle.

The scarf had taken her an entire week to knit following her accident and she had originally planned to give it to the blonde the day before but had never found the right moment or time to hand it over. Deep down, she also wished that she could have gotten him something far more luxurious than a hand knit scarf and for a moment, her heart ached at the thought of him rejecting it. But as her feelings reasserted itself that there was no way he was that petty and that was why she loved it for him, she gave a little sigh before burying her face in the piece of cloth once more, her face reddening at just how happy he would look when she finally handed the gift over.

"Can I help you?" an annoyed voice called out from over the counter and once more the bluenette came face to face with another of her ex-colleague; Ibara. Whereas Sakura and Ino were mainly the two instigators, Ibara was one who the bluenette disliked the most. This was because despite never being one of those people who took advantage of her, Ibara was always finding ways to make life difficult for her. Either in the form of misplacing her items and more importantly, by insulting and belittling her as much possible. There were even times when the bluenette had to excuse herself to the toilet just to cry out her misery in peace and it was all due to this mistress of pain. "You!"

"O-ohayo I-ibara-san," the bluenette muttered, her face pale as snow once more, as she placed her scarf on the floor before handing the receptionist the box. "I-I would l-like to m-make a d-donation, please."

"What for? Whatever you're donating is bound to be garbage anyway," the brunette sneered, but accepted the box anyway. As she flipped open the box however, her eyes widened before she turned to glare at the bluenette once more. "Where in the world did you steal such a thing, you thief! Guards!"

"B-but I-"she squeaked back, as two security guards appeared next to her.

"Take her away boys," Ibara sneered, gazing at the crown once more. It looked so beautiful to her and belonged with someone like her instead of being auctioned off for the sake of some crummy kids. As the bluenette was dragged off against her will, Ibara caught side of something on the floor; Hinata's pink scarf and a nasty thought went through her mind. She was originally going toss her little scarf into the rubbish bin but now that she thought about it...why not ruin the bluenette's reputation? And what better way than to ruin it by having her scarf auctioned off at a ridiculously low price as well as announcing that she was doing for the sake of winning the head organizer's heart? Oh, it was just too sweet to pass up, by the time the whole thing was done, no doubt the Uzumaki head will be closing her former employers building down and that would show them who was boss. The best part however, was that she was leaving with a little gift of her own...

_With Naruto,_

"That's everything," he told Karin as they chased away the last of the reporters all around. "Now, where are those two? The event's about to start in five minutes..."

"Nii-san...is that Hina-chan there along with Shika?" Karin called before pointing towards a group of four people arguing. Presently, the Nara was trying his best to explain the situation to the two security officers, who by the way, were adamant in dragging the run-of-the mill looking Hinata out of the building. As far as they were concerned, there was just no way this bandaged up looking girl was invited by anyone and if the Nara didn't shut up, he would be joining her shortly. And Hinata...both cousins sweat dropped at this, Hinata was screaming her head off about finding some scarf. They had never seen her in this mood before but now that they didn't they didn't know whether to feel amuse at her actions or sorry for the poor guards who was trying to refrain her.

"Let go!' she yelled. "N-naru-kun's present! I-I need t-to get it!"

"Is there a problem?" her fiance called out as both Uzumaki's arrived on the scene. Both security guards had huge smirks on their faces when they saw the two cousins arrive. Their smirks were wiped off however, when they saw the blonde one reached down and silenced her with a small hug. "What do you think you're doing to my special guest?"

"I don't know who you are, sir," one of the guards dared. "But there's just no way _she_ is a guest here."

"You shouldn't be referring to an Uzumaki as such," Karin threatened, to which both guards cringed back. Unlike the blonde, they knew Karin was probably involved with some hot-shot running the entire thing because of her hair color and if there was one thing their superiors had told them; it was to never mess with a red haired involved with the event.

"My lady perhaps," the second guard called out. "But I doubt your companion is."

"Nii-san?" Karin asked back, to which both guards suddenly realized their mistake. Okay, maybe not ALL Uzumaki members had red hair but it was far too late as Naruto commanded the entire group of bodyguards his cousin had arrive with to show the two disrespectful man just who was in charge around here.

"Inoichi is so going to regret this," the blonde growled before wheeling Hinata away with them. "Where in the world were you, Shika?!"

"My apologies, Naruto-sama," his assistant apologized. "I had to use the restroom. Please forgive my incompetency."

"See that it does not happen again," he muttered. In a much kinder voice, he asked the still squirming bluenette, "Did you managed to hand in the gift, Hina-chan?"

"No!" she wailed this time round. "N-naru-kun, my e-ex-co-worker t-took your box from m-me and...and...and it's j-just dreadful, m-my present's g-gone to. N-naru-kun, I'm s-so sorry..."

"Whoa, one at a time, Hina-chan," he asked as he wheeled her towards the auditorium where the auction was taking place. "Whatever it is, it's going to have to wait, the auction's starting right now."

"NO!" she yelled once more, before reaching our and grabbing Karin's forearm. As the two girls' eyes met, the red haired suddenly realized just what it was that the bluenette was so worried about.

"Don't worry Hina-chan," she whispered back. "I'll get your scarf back for you. Afterall, I didn't spent all those nights in the hospital helping out just to see you efforts go to waste."

* * *

><p>Chapter end<p>

Will Karin managed to get the precious scarf back?! What about Ibara and the announcement Mito planned for our young couple? Find out next time!

P.S. Next chapter won't be post up until the new chapter of Moonlight Kingdom. It will now alternate between one update and the next, unless I post a new chapter tonight...which I could.

As usual, please leave you thoughts and criticism in the comments below. Hopefully this chapter was just as fun for you to write as it was for me to write.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

**Author's note: **Hi again guys and sorry for the late update. Christmas took a bit of a toll on me, as I'm sure most of you are aware of the lethargy that comes along with the festivities. That said, it was a lovely little sidetrack but now that we're ushering into the new year, might as well get back to it. That said however, updates might be painfully slow as I try to adjust to the new year's work load.

With that said, let's get on to it!

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Kindness<p>

_At the auctioning event,_

"Hina, please stop fidgeting!" her fiance told her firmly as they seated themselves in front of the stage where the event was about to take place. For the life of him, however, he couldn't get her to stop and as if by some unexplained phenomena, Karin had immediately left following the bluenette's request. Why his fiance was so fixated upon the crown missing was understandable but why did she keep mumbling about some scarf or whatnot? Was it some special keepsake from her past? Or maybe it was a gift from Karin or Mito? Well, whatever it was, it had to wait seeing as the auction was about to begin...and the bluenette was still far too distracted to sit still.

"...Scarf...need...Na-" she mumbled, and causing Naruto to once more turn a cautious eye at her. Sighing this time round, he reached out an arm and held her hand in his. What he had hope for from this interaction though, was totally unprecedented as instead of quieting down and looking embarrassed, like he was at the moment, Hinata was completely unaware of his touch. **At all**. A small look of hurt replaced Naruto's embarrassed one as he entertain the thought that whatever this scarf that his fiance was worried about, it was certainly more important to her than he was given her reaction.

Who scares about some goddamn scarf?! he thought angrily, before tightening his hold on her. Anger turn to frustration this time, as Hinata remained unfazed by this and as the blonde's mood soured, he let go of his hold on her, before turning away to face the other direction. Had the bluenette noticed this, she would have reacted otherwise but once more, her eyes were glued on the door, waiting for the moment when Karin would burst in with her precious gift to the blonde. Unfortunately, no such luck happened and the lights dimmed as a spiky haired man in his late forties took the stand.

"Good afternoon everyone," the auctioneer announced. "Allow me to thank you on behalf of the sponsor and overseer of this event, Mito Uzumaki, who wishes to express her heartfelt gratitude in participating this event. As I'm sure you are all aware of, the money raised by this charity will be used for the benefit of the village's orphanage. Without further due, let's start the event."

"Naruto-sama, you did not tell me my father would be the auctioneer..." a very annoyed looking Shikamaru whispered to his superior. The blonde however, gave him a cold look before looking away, his face once more facing away from the girl next to him. Seeing this made the poor Nara sighed out in frustration. Of all the times for the two of them to have an argument, it had to be right there in the auditorium where everyone could see them. Only an idiot would miss out the tension radiating from him, Shikamaru thought warily. From his perspective, that tension was almost akin to a wall and it was only growing by the second as the injured little Hyuuga girl kept twisting and turning in her wheelchair, with the occasional glance at the door every now and then.

"Oh my! That ring is such a little beauty! Promise me you'll get it for me, dear!" one of the ladies behind squealed out, totally oblivious to the dissent between the young pair in front of her.

Okay, maybe I put too much stock in these rich people...Shikamaru thought. As he scanned his eyes around the area behind him however, he realized that he would have to re-evaluate everything about them. NOT a single one of them were even the slightest bit aware of the angry waves emitting from his boss and that was disappointing to say the least, seeing as the waves of anger radiating from the Uzumaki was enough to make even, the normally aloof Nara tense. Why in the world did I take this job? Oh right...dad literally worships Mito-sama and the wages are peanuts...when this event is over, I'm handing in my form of resignation...

"N...naru-kun?" a worried Hinata asked as she turned to stare at her very angry fiance. She had more important things to be worried about at the moment but seeing him angry was something that she could never ignore, especially when she considered all the trouble he had gone through for her sake. Slowly, she reached out her right hand to his but just as she made contact, the blonde roughly brushed her hand away. "Ow!"

There was a slight stir next to her as the blonde heard her small cry of pain but he did nothing else. Eyes widening this time, the bluenette tried once more with similar results. Whatever it was that was ticking him off, Hinata soon realized that it must have something to do with her seeing as he had never treated her with such contempt before. The guilt replacing her worry now, the bluenette tried to rationalize just what it was that could have earned such a reaction from him but could not figure out the reason why. Many girls would have been angry had they been in her shoes, seeing as she had done nothing to deserve such a punishment but bear in mind that the Hyuuga girl was not among them. Brought up in a hostile environment, Hinata was all too aware of the suffering of the people around her and instead of the usual anger and frustration that happened whenever something went wrong in her household, she had, instead, always felt guilt and misery whenever something like this happened. This was because unlike normal people, the bluenette had always tried to shoulder everyone else's pain around her and had even taken the blame for her sister multiple times. While Hanabi had always questioned her sanity in taking the blame for someone else' problem, Hinata didn't really seem to mind as it help put other people's mind at ease.

"Naru-kun!" she called out more loudly this time, as she gripped her fiance's shoulder but Naruto only ignored her. It was only when a faint sob escaped from her mouth that the blonde finally turned to stare at her. What he saw however banished all previous form of anger from his heart; Hinata was looking back at him with such a sorrowful look that it was hard to feel anything but guilt from the way he had treated her. That and the way she was gripping her chest with her free hand only made the situation far worse in his eyes. All too soon, Tsunade's words of caution crossed his mind once more, "_You are her only anchor to reality_". Granted, his feelings had been hurt when she had diverted most of her attention away from him for the sake of some unknown scarf but maybe the scarf truly was important to her and he had been very unfair in punishing her just like that. Before he could do anything else though, Shikaku announced something that diverted both of their attention away from one another and onto the stage.

"And here, we have a donation from Uzumaki Naruto's lady companion today, Lady Hyuuga, that...oh might..." the Nara announced as he wiped the perspiration from his brow. Some people really went too far in proclaiming their love but that was none of his concern. This was his job and it wasn't his fault that this so-called anonymous doner was going to so carelessly announced her love in such an event, then that was just fine by him. "Ahem...as I was saying ladies and gentlemen, Lady Hyuuga has decided to donate...there must be some mistake..."

"I thought you didn't donate the crown, Hina-chan?" the blonde asked, worry lacing through his facial expression now. He didn't know how and he didn't know why but something in his gut told him that he wasn't going to like what Shikaku was going to say next.

"I d-didn't!" the bluenette answered back. As both pair of eyes turned back to the stage, mutterings from the audience could be heard from all around them as the assistant auctioneer brought forth the item into question. Hinata's eyes widened in horror at the revelation, the item in question was none other than her pink scarf itself and the person bringing forth said item was none other than Ibara. As Ibara's eyes meet hers, a shocked look flashed across her face at the revelation that her dreaded enemy was indeed invited to the auctioning event but a nasty little smirk soon replaced it. Who cares if she was indeed invited as a guest of honor? After what Shikaku was going to say, she would be treated as nothing more than an outcast. This will teach her not to mess with me! Ibara thought smugly, before handing the item over to Shikaku.

"Ibara...are you sure about this?" Shikaku asked worriedly, when the scarf was handed over to him. There was just no way anyone was going to donate such a simple piece of clothing to such a prestigious event. The brown haired girl however, brushed off his concern before giving him a hard look and whispering something inaudible to him. Whatever she had to say however, Shikaku was not buying. The Nara might be a subservient clan to the Uzumakis but there was no way they were ever going to humiliate anyone else in front of the general public, even if the person in general was requesting for it. And though he had no idea what was going on, Shikaku smelt a rat in the proceedings before him. Something...or rather someone, he thought to himself, was going out of their way to embarrass the Hyuuga girl. Intelligence might be his forefront in all business affairs but so was honor and the Nara head was not going to humiliate the bluenette for the sake of his job.

As Shikaku shook his head at Ibara, she suddenly gave a small growl at him, before snatching the microphone from his hand. Stunned by this sudden display of aggression, the Nara was head was too bewildered to do anything else and that was when Ibara took her opportunity to avenge both herself and her former colleagues. It'll definitely cost her her new job at the Yamanaka's family business but little did she care; she hated her present job anyway and only one thing mattered to her right now.

"Ladies and gentlemen," she called out loudly. "Before I present the item, Lady Hyuuga has entrusted me something important to say to all of you. This item of hers was specifically donated as her declaration of love towards our sponsor and host of this event; the unknown Uzumaki heir. With that, I present to you her item of choice, a simple handmade scarf that fetches a modest sum of 600 yen. Any bidders?"

"Pfft...is this some kind of joke?" someone behind Shikamaru whispered.

"Such terrible marksmanship...don't tell me she made it herself. Even a five year old can do better," another person muttered.

"That's her isn't it?" one of the more uptight females of the audience pointed at the poor bluenette, who by now was shaking tremendously like a leaf. "I heard what happened to her but to do something like this? Hah! Mito-sama would be so angry..."

"Hina! Stay with me!" Naruto growled, shaking her shoulders slightly as the bluenette's face paled rapidly. He no longer cared about the auction but was more worried about her sake. I shouldn't have brought her here! the blonde thought angrily. As people continue jeering at his fiance however, she suddenly collapse in his arms, her eyes, devoid of all feelings of emotions as despair took over her once more.

"120 000 000 yen," Shikamaru called out loudly, as everyone turned to stare at him in horror. You owe me for this, Naruto! the Nara silently told him as the blonde glanced up at him in shock.

"Has he lost his mind?!" one of the people behind him called out. "Who in the world would pay such an absurd amount of money for such an item?!"

"200 000 000 yen," a voice called out from behind the audience. Everyone turned to stare in the direction of the caller, only to find a single red haired girl walking down the aisle towards the three of them. Unlike Naruto however, everyone knew just who the red haired girl was. Karin, was initially named as the heir to the Uzumaki heritage but ultimately gave it up due to an unknown reason. Despite this however, her status and image had retained its original influence worldwide, before she had stepped down from the position. If not, more so. The public, and the media however, were still very much fixated on her, since she was one of the few people who actually knew who the real heir was now that she had officially gave up that post. That said however, everyone in the room knew her for a different position. Famed for her resourcefulness and clear sharp tactics in the business world, the red haired was well respected by each one of the wealthy business families who were present there currently. It was only because of her say-so that they were there right now and as Karin, stepped forward to voice out her own claim, Ibara's little tricks back-fired upon herself. So far as the guests were concern, if Karin said something was important, it **MUST** be important. That was just how much power she held as an Uzumaki...

"Now that I think about it, it does look amazing," the same girl who had slandered the scarf only minutes ago interrupted. "It must be worth millions if Karin-sama is willing to bid such a high price for it."

"300 000 000 yen," Naruto announced as he regained his composure. I'm not losing to you, Karin! he smirked at her, to which he cousin grinned back. Whatever the circumstance, Shikamaru sweat-dropped. Leave it to the cousins to turn such an embarrassing situation into a game of humor but since it wasn't doing any harm, what was his point of complaining. If anything, his job was done. It was time to sit back and enjoy the show. No doubt, the people in charge of this whole mess would be getting what was coming to them.

"400 000 000 yen," Karin challenged back, a gleam in her eyes now. You're not beating me nii-san! she thought eagerly.

"500 000 000 yen!" he yelled back, that same gleam reflected back in his eyes. Win or lose didn't matter to him at this point. Not that it ever mattered in the first place, however, while victory was not the concern here, there was no way the blonde was going to allow his cousin to outmatch him in front of the girl he loved so much. It would be an insult to his pride and status as Karin's nii-san and Hinata's future husband.

"Naru-kun, s-stop!" Hinata suddenly voiced out. "I-it's n-not worth th-that much m-money!"

"Who says it isn't worth that much?" he told her back. Everyone was staring at the three of them as the brief scuffle erupted between them. "If I say it's that much, then it _**is**_ that much."

"Y-you d-don't e-even like it!" the bluenette cried back, grabbing his shirt now.

"True, I don't know why you spent so much time and attention focusing on such a useless little scarf..." he trailed off, missing the hurt look on Hinata's face and the annoyed looks on both Shikamaru's and Karin's. "But...if it means that much to you...then it means the world to me. I bid 750 000 000 yen!"

"Amazing," Shikaku called out, grabbing the microphone away from the shell-shocked Ibara. "So, in a twist of events, Naruto-sama's bid for his lady companion's scarf has been raised from 600 yen to an astonishing 750 000 000 one. Anyone else?"

You really do love her, don't you, nii-san? Karin thought. Shaking her head, she held out both hands in a defeat like gesture before turning to walk away in the same direction as she had entered only minutes before. Naruto turned to give his assistant a grateful nod, which Shikamaru shrug back but even the Nara couldn't help stop the smile forming on his face at the way the entire event had turned out. As for Shikaku, the Nara elder had gave vent to a huge sigh of relief; at the very least, he wouldn't be losing his job anytime soon and his entire retirement sum along with it. Ibara quickly skulk off before anyone had the chance to apprehend her and lastly, our dear bluenette had her head down in a depressed manner, with her arms folded in front of her, trying her best to stop the onslaught of tears that was sure to follow once the event was over.

"Then, it pleases me to inform you that the winner of this amazing scarf goes to Uzumaki Naruto at the price of 750 000 000 bid," Shikaku announced, as everyone turned to give the young pair a standing ovation. Looks of admiration and infatuation were strewn clearly on the wealthy ladies look as they beheld the man who had donated such an obscene amount of money for the sake of his dear beloved. They were many rich guys around but it took a lot for a guy to go this far for the sake of his female companion. The guys on the other hand, had respect and jealousy on their faces at the way Naruto had so casually turned a seemingly undefeated situation around to his favor.

"This gift will be awarded to my companion today, Miss Hyuuga, who has decided to grace me with her presence," Naruto answered, before taking hold of Hinata's right hand and placing a soft kiss of it. Another round of clapping ensured as Hinata hurriedly looked away from her blonde fiance's face, not trusting the tears that were already sliding down her cheeks.

_Outside the hall, after the event,_

"Hina-chan, are you okay?" Naruto asked cautiously once they were outside. It had seemed strange to him when she had remained so unnaturally quiet as the rest of the auctioning proceeded without a hint of interruption. However, the moment, when everyone had left and no sooner, had he gently wheeled her out, she had burst into fit of tears, her sobs racking through her small body as her pent up feelings of frustration and guilt reached through her surface. Not surprisingly, Shikamaru had cleverly excused himself for a drink when this had happened and before his boss could even so such as utter a word in response, he had spirited himself away round the corner, with no one aware of just where he had gone or when he would return.

"N...y...baka" the bluenette sobbed quietly, as the blonde slowly reached down to her face level.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"W-why did you do s-such a th-thing?" she cried, her eyes in her hands once more. "I-it wasn't w-worth th-that much!"

"But I thought you were looking for this scarf?" he asked her. The scarf was now in his hands but just as he showed it to her, the bluenette reached out an arm, and faster than the eye could see, flung it a few feet away from the two of them.

"Y-you shouldn't h-have d-done th-that!" she sobbed once more. "D-don't you r-realize-"

"No, I don't hime," he answered back dangerously. It was going to happen sooner or later but now that it did, there was no other way to going around it. "So tell me, what don't I actually realize? You kicked up such a big fuss because you wanted some useless piece of clothing and now that I got it for you, you don't want it anymore? Hina...what do you want from me?!"

"I...I...I j-just want you t-to be happy," she whispered. "B-but N-naru-kun...how c-can I d-do that when y-you're always th-the one who has t-to sacrifice everything f-for my happiness! Just stop!"

"What?" he blinked. Okay, now I'm confused... "Explain, hime."

"I m-made th-that scarf for you," she told him shakily. "I-it was suppose t-to be my th-thank you present f-for everything. B-but e-everytime I t-try to d-do something, i-it always fails and y-you have to c-clean up my mess...y-you've d-done so much for me...and I-I..I can't d-do _anything_ in return..."

"Hina, you don't have to do anything for me," the blonde replied gently now. So this was why she was so fixated on it. She wasn't worried about some piece of clothing, she was worried that her heartfelt feelings of gratitude and affection wouldn't reached him. "You're such a handful, you know that? When I treat you badly, you get upset and when I treat you like a princess, you get _upset_. I really don't know what to do anymore..."

"You're n-not in a p-position to t-tell me that," she answered back hotly. "Y-you don't know wh-what it's like, not being a-able to do anything f-for the man y-you love..."

"Well I-wait a minute...did you say you love me?"

Eep! Oh no! "No!" the bluenette bluffed back. "And wh-where's Karin?"

"Don't you dare change the subject, Hina," Naruto teased. Reaching down, he picked up the scarf now before pocketing it. "You now, now that I think about it...I'll keep this little gift of yours as a little memento of your confession from today. Only you could cause such a commotion, Hina."

"St-stop teasing me, N-naru-kun..." she blushed back.

"But you don't actually mind it, do you?" he continued, as he wheeled her to the building entrance. Hinata bit back her tongue at that.

No, I don't, she thought. But I'm _never_ going to tell you that, Naruto-kun...you big meanie...

_A few minutes later later,_

"I'll get the car, Hina-chan. Wait here," Naruto told her as he went to find the vehicle. Shikamaru had still not return yet but given the circumstance, the blonde decided to let this slide off just once. It was after all, due to the Nara's ingenuity and quick thinking that saved his fiance from hat could have been a disastrous outcome. I suppose I'll have to give him a damn raise once we get back, he thought sourly.

Why did this have to happen? Hinata thought to herself, once she was alone. Everything had worked out fine in the end but it was only because the Uzumakis were always there on the lookout for her. Sighing softly, she rubbed her sore head slowly as she thought of a way to thank the blonde for what he had done. But what would a person who was as well-off as Naruto want from her? There was nothing she could think off that would even warrant so much as her consideration on the topic. A slight blush developed across her face as she recalled what Karin had suggested on her nightly visit a week ago...

_Flashback begins..._

_"Ano...K-karin-san," Hinata began, as Karin playfully brushed the bluenette's hair. It was just after working hours, when we find the three girls chatting away happily in the little hospital room. While Karin was busy amusing herself with her dear friend's hair, Matsuri was busy preparing all three of them cups of coffee for the night ahead of them. Seeing as this was their first time visiting the injured Hyuuga girl, it was bound to be a long one._

_"Yes?" she replied back jovially, accepting a cup from the blonde girl._

_"Wh-what does..."she hesitated, before gathering her courage and pushing through. "Wh-what does N-naruto-kun l-like?"_

_"Nii-san? Not actually sure...why are you asking?"_

_"Its because Hina-chan wants to get him something," Matsuri giggled, as Karin turned to give her dear friend an amused look and Hinata gave Matsuri a betrayed one. "I'm sorry, Hina-san, it was too hard to resist."_

_"Y-you promised you wouldn't t-tell!" she whined back._

_"I have an idea..." a nasty smirk crossed the red haired girl's mind as she bent down to whisper something into the bluenette's ear. A few minutes later, Hinata's face erupted into a huge blush, as she struggled to free herself from the red haired girl's rambling._

_"K-karin-san s-stop!" she begged but the red haired refused. It was hard to get such a reaction from anyone and besides, seeing as Tsunade had effectively chained her dear friend to her hospital bed, she was the best victim-I mean candidate for her latest idea of a erotic novel._

_"Hey, don't leave me out of the fun!" Matsuri teased, before the Uzumaki girl turned to give her a nasty grin. ****, I should not have said that... _

_"Well, I suggested Hina-chan over here to-" Karin began when the bluenette, still very much flustered by what her fiance's cousin had said, quickly untied her hand bandage and placed it over the Uzumaki's mouth, preventing her from uttering any more words._

_"Yo-you're not saying a-anything!" the Hyuuga girl muttered darkly. "Wh-what me and N-naru-kun do is n-none of y-your c-concern, Ka-karin-san!"_

_"Oh my..." Matsuri's face gushed, her own face a deep blush now. "Hina-san...how far have you actually gone with Naruto-kun...if you don't mind me asking?"_

_Before she had a chance to answer however, Karin had cunningly slip under her little bandage chain, before slyly positioning herself out of the bluenette's reach. As Hinata desperately made a reach for her, Karin turned to both of them, a malevolent gleam in her eyes once more. Fear racing through her heart now, the bluenette tried desperately to grabbed the red-hair but fell just short of a few centimeters. "They've gone quite far, Matsuri-san," Karin answered, to which an eager Matsuri listen to carefully. Like all girls, it was hard for her to ignore gossip, though she tried very hard to. This however, hardly counted as gossip seeing as the bluenette was in the room right with them and though she knew her new friend would be very angry at the two of them, Matsuri also knew that Hinata would forgive them for their little teasing._

_"You see, Hina-chan over here is quite a seductress, seeing as she was able to catch the eye of our company's CEO," Karin elaborated, as Matsuri gasped out in amazement and Hinata wailed out in frustration. "Why, on their first day, she actually **** **** **** **** **** **** ****-"  
><em>

_By then, both girls were redder than a beetroot, although one of them had an amused look while the other was cursing the strap imprisoning her to the bed with every bit of rage and fury she could master. As Karin's choice of words grew ever more colorful however, Hinata, finally losing it, threw whatever was within her grasp at the two of them. From pillows to even the bedside flowerpot, her actions only spurred the other two on as both girls added even more embarrassing situations into the story. From make-out sessions to steamy scenes, the bluenette finally gave a huge screech before flinging herself at the two of them...and failing miserably when her bed strap held her back._

_"St-stop!" she begged but her two friends were too far gone now. It was only when their laughter finally caught up to them that they finally stop, as the pain in their sides caused both of them to stop and take in some well needed oxygen. _

_"I haven't laugh so hard since the third grade," Karin panted. "You could always try what I suggested though, Hina-chan. I'm sure nii-san would be very delighted if he found you on his bed in such a amusing pose."_

_"P-perverted s-smut r-reading h-h-hentai g-girl," the bluenette scolded, earning a small giggle from Matsuri and a scowl from Karin. _

_"Naruto-kun is kinda dreamy..." Matsuri sighed out, stars gleaming in her eyes, as she recalled the scene where the blonde boy had rushed in the day her colleague was rushed in to the hospital. "He was so cool...so dashing...I wish he was my boyfriend...hey, Hina-chan, if you don't want him anymore, send him my way, okay?"_

_Giggling, she turned to face her two friends, only to be take a step back in fear at the sight before her; the injured Hyuuga girl no longer seemed so vulnerable in her bandages and hospital attire as she had flung herself, bed and all, straight at the blonde for what she thought of as 'hitting on her man'._

_"N-naru-kun i-is mine!" she snarled, as Karin tried her best to held the angry bluenette in place._

_"Hina-chan, that was a joke!" the red haired hurriedly called out. "Matsuri would never eye nii-san that way! Right, Matsuri?"_

_"Y-yeah," the blonde girl stammered, as she made her way straight to the door. Friend or not, this Hinata did not seem like someone she would want to mess with and besides, visiting times were almost over. "I guess, I'll see you later on then! Goodbye Karin-san, goodbye, Hina-san!"_

_Unfortunately, as she opened the door, Naruto, who had decided to bring Karin back on the request on their grandmother, stepped in and as both blondes were not aware of the other, they had accidentally collided onto one another, before laying on the ground in a dazed up little pile, with Matsuri on top of him. And because, Naruto wasn't aware of Hinata's little jealousy trait back then, he had proceeded to mutter a line that would haunt him for the rest of his days to come._

_"Well, somebody better call God because I think an angel just fell on me," he teased, earning a huge blush from his blonde counterpart as she hurriedly looked away in the other direction. Before they could do anything else however, an extremely overbearing blood-lust permeated from the person in front of them and turning, they sweatdropped to find Karin flung to one side of the wall as the bluenette proceeded to pummel both of them with whatever she could get her hands onto. _

_"**Tr-traitors**!" she screeched. Had the situation not been so dire back then, it would have been a very comical sight seeing the bluenette lying on the floor, with her hospital bed lying just on top of her flinging object after object at the two people in front of her. _

_I thought Hinata was more of the sweet, gentle, mallow girlfriend, Karin groaned to herself. Not the crazy, overly attached kill-cheating-boyfriend-on-sight type!_

_Flashback ends_

When she had finally calmed down, the bluenette had proceeded apologize profusely towards her dear blonde friend for what she had done, although Matsuri had survived without so much as a scratch. Naruto, on the other hand, had to have his right temple stitched up but had not even gotten so much as a single word of "sorry" from his fiance in return. Until today, the Hyuuga girl still hadn't quite forgiven him for hitting on her colleague, even though he had tried many times to tell her that he was only trying to lighten the mood but had altogether given up trying to convince her in the end. It seemed that whenever cheating was involve, Hinata was as stubborn as a mule in her decision and as swift as lightning in punishing the blonde for his transgression.

Maybe I should finally forgive Naruto-kun for what happened a week ago after what I put him through...she thought to herself, before feeling a slight kick to her wheelchair. Turning, she found, to her dismay, that it was none other than Ibara.

"Thought I find you here," she sneered. "You really are a princess aren't you, Hinata-san? So, what did you do to get the approval of the Uzumakis? The same thing you did with Neji, I presume?"

"Wh-what do you w-want, Ibara-san?" she squeaked back in fear.

"Me? It's not what I want, Hina-chan. It's what you want, that's important," the brunette taunted back. "So tell me, how many guys are you going to seduce with your innocent, poor me routine? It must be so beneficial to your cause having an important member of the Uzumaki household wrapped around your little finger like that, isn't it? Don't be too happy though, you're nothing more than a play thing to him, what can you offer him in return? Your looks? Maybe he would, if I scrapped that innocent face of yours?"

Adrenaline raced through her system as Ibara reached down into her pocket and took out a small pocket knife. She had tried everything in her power to humiliate the damn Hyuuga but since fate was conspiring against her, she would have to take matters into her own hands. As Ibara unsheathe the blade, the bluenette tried desperately to fend off her attack. For what it was worth, she put up a good fight but given her weakened and still recovering body, it was all she could do to stop the brunette from slashing her face twice. As warm blood dripped from the long scar across her right cheek, Hinata gasped out in horror at what Ibara had done to her previously flawless face. Reaching up a trembling arm slowly, she placed it on the cut; it might be shallow but it was a long one and it stretched from her right ear to her jawline.

"Oh don't be too upset," Ibara sneered. "You weren't even listed as a wife or a Mrs. You were only called a 'lady companion'. Still, I wouldn't have done such a thing had you been good and accepted your humiliating punishment just now."

"M-my f-face..m-my face..." was the only thing the poor Hyuuga girl could cried out.

"No one would ever want you now," Ibara laughed. Before she could do anything else however, someone reached out behind her and plucked the knife right out of her hand. As Ibara turned to glare at the newcomer, she felt a powerful kick to her side, forcing her to buckle down in pain as she stared up at the sight of the towering Naruto above her.

"Would Mrs Uzumaki be an appropriate title for Hinata-san?" he snarled, before ramming the blade straight into the brunette's right cheek. "I will always love my dear fiance but you...what kind of man would ever want a self-centered piece of trash with a hole in her mouth?! You're be spending the next ten years learning how to eat with two holes in the sides of your face!"

TWO?! Ibara thought frantically as Naruto pulled out the blade before jamming it in the other side. Howls of fury raced through the parking lot as Ibara gave vent to the pain the blonde had inflicted upon her. Freeing his grip on her, he began to make his way towards the bluenette when he noticed something on the brunette's side. Anger turned to fury when he realized what had actually happened to his gift to the bluenette earlier on. Reaching down, he plucked the box, with the crown away from her, as Ibara made a frantic effort to get it back.

"This belongs to Hina-chan," he told her coldly. "So you're the one who was responsible for the little mess up. Shikamaru, tell Karin, we've found the culprit."

"At once sir," the Nara replied. Shikamaru rarely ever obeyed orders with such ferocity before but after witnessing what Ibara had done to the handicapped girl was something that would even stirred his aloof heart into action. As far as the Nara was concern, justice was required. The only problem was that it wasn't going to be served quickly enough. As Ibara made a frantic effort to get away, Naruto held her down while the Nara quickly speed-dialed Karin.

_With Karin,_

"I see. Thank you for the information, Shika," the red haired girl said. "I'll alert the guards right away. Is there *beep* beep* beep* Ah, my apologies *beep* *beep *beep* but I'll have to call you back."

Who in the world would call me now? Maybe I should have two phones afterall, Karin thought as she looked up at the new number. Her eyes widened however once she realized just who it was that was calling her. "Hello?"

"Karin? Is that you?" a male voice called out from the other end.

"Minato-san! It has been forever since you called!" the red haired girl greeted. "Wait...you're not calling me because-"

"Hai," the Namikaze replied back grimly. "Remember what we discussed last time? When I left Naruto all those years ago?"

"You can't be serious," Karin answered back, dreading what her uncle was going to say.

"I had hope this day would never come but I'm going to need your help, Karin," he told her. "_She's_ coming back and the two of us have no doubt just what it is that she wants..."

"Nii-san..."

"Hai. Whatever happens, we can't let Naruto meet her. There's no telling what will happen if he finds out she's coming over as we speak," he replied. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Is there a place we can talk about this?"

"We have to let baa-chan know! It's because of her decision in the first place that created this rift between the three of you," she answered back, as she made her way towards the parking lot as well. Just when things were finally going smoothly for them, Naruto's ex-girlfriend had to show up. And now...of all times...

* * *

><p>Chapter end.<p>

That's it for now guys, I'm quite burned out from all the effort. What happens next time when this so called third party appears?! Find out the true reason that made Naruto resent both his grandmother and his father in the next chapter!

We'll also be seeing a lot of relationship development between Karin, Matsuri and Hinata next time round as Karin finally begins taking her future cousin-in-law under her wing! Will Mito help mold the Hyuuga girl into the next clan matriarch as well?! Find out next time!


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